


Snowfall

by Faythren



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/M, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-02-08 14:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 55,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1944285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faythren/pseuds/Faythren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Frost has the family he's always wanted. Nothing seemed to be missing until he meets Jamie's cousin, Emma Stone.  Emma and her parents move in with Jamie's family when her mom gets cancer. Nothing can be done, so they just try to make her as comfortable as possible among the only family she has left in Burgess. Emma struggles to keep herself together while her father falls apart. And then she meets Jack Frost. Neither were looking, but they both find something in each other. Then Pitch returns with a new-found strength he didn't have before, seeking revenge, his eyes focused on Emma. Will Jack have the strength needed to protect Emma, or will he use a different kind of strength to push her away, to protect her both from harm and from the broken heart that is sure to come? However, Emma isn't just going to give up without a fight. She's willing to fight for what she wants, and she won't let anyone get in her way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work that is already posted in its entirety on FanFiction.Net. It is a completed fiction so I will be able to get all twenty chapters posted today, tomorrow at the latest.
> 
> Now, go onward and enjoy!

**Emma POV**

Celebrate life, die righteously, prevail over sorrow, and give thanks.

These are the words Emma Stone's mother used to say. Or still does, she supposes. Meaning, she would if she could. But she can't. The cancer makes her too weak to talk much. They've gone to many doctors, trying a bunch of different treatments, but, in the end, they all say the same thing: three months at best. That's it. They're not taking it very well, Emma and her father. Especially her father. That's why, when her mom still had some strength left, her mom convinced her dad to move them to Burgess, so they could be with family. Emma's dad has no family to speak of; he was in and out of foster care until he turned legal age, and her mom's parents passed away when Emma was really little, so it's her mother's sister's house that they're at now. Aunt Marcy, with a ten-year-old son named Jamie and a little four-year-old daughter named Sophie, already a handful to take care of by herself. Still, she kindly took them in.

Emma lugs her suitcase onto Jamie's/her bed with a sigh, causing the bedsprings to creak with the sudden weight. She feels bad about Aunt Marcy giving her Jamie's room, he isn't too thrilled with having to share a room with his sister, either, but she appreciates the sacrifice. Sure, it still has his outer space bedspread, dozens of colorful crayon drawings are hanging on the walls, and the floor is littered with some of his toys, not exactly her kind of decorating, but it's her own place to sit and think. Emma figures she's probably going to need the space in the weeks to come.

Emma starts to mechanically unpack her clothes, placing them in the dresser drawers that have already been emptied for her use, trying _not_ to think about how her dad is helping her mom get situated in one of the twin beds in the guest room downstairs. They had to transport her in an ambulance since she can't walk or even sit up and is permanently attached to a machine that helps her breathe. A kind nurse from the hospital she was being treated at back home came along with them to help get everything set up for her. Emma's dad probably could have handled it himself, but since the diagnosis he's been drinking. It hasn't gotten bad. Yet. He's been more sober than drunk; that usually waits until late at night. But it's bad enough to where Emma is worried. Emma's just glad her mom is asleep most of the time now, both so that she can escape the pain in the land of dreams and so that she doesn't see the state her husband is in.

About an hour later Emma finishes unpacking the rest of her things and contemplates on what to do next. Winter break just started so she has no homework to do. She could work on some drawings, Jamie's room has a good view of the street and she can see a little park a couple of blocks away, but her heart just isn't in it today. Her eyes then fall onto the stack of books on her desk. She runs her hand along the titles on the spines lovingly, wishing she could have brought more. There are ten of them, mostly fantasy, nowhere near even a fifth, or even a tenth, of her entire book collection, but her dad told her she had to be conservative while packing.

When Emma's hand strokes the soft leather book on top she sighs, shoulders slumping slightly. It's a collection of fairy tales and other myths her mother gave her when she was little. Emma picks up the book and goes to sit on the bed, flipping through worn pages of stories she now knows by heart. There are the classics, like Cinderella and Red Riding Hood, and then there are the childhood myths, like Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny.

Emma pauses on her favorite story, delicately caressing with a slender finger the name Jack Frost. She has always loved winter, but has never seen snow. Often as a child she would wish for Jack Frost to visit her in Florida, but as the years went by she knew that her wishes were falling on ears that do not exist.

Setting the book aside, Emma goes over to the window and opens it, the hinges squeaking slightly. A frigid breeze fills the room and her lungs, causing her long brown hair to fly gently around her head. Emma doesn't have a jacket on to protect her from the cold, but she doesn't care. She has always found the cold invigorating. Some people look out onto the small town of Burgess and see the dead, leafless trees, the dull houses barged against the icy claws of the air, and a cloudy gray sky, but Emma sees life in everything, life that is being bundled up in a cocoon for the winter, waiting for spring to come when it can spread it's monarch wings and fly. It is an anticipation that becomes sweater with each passing day. Each day of winter, that life stirs with the joy and fun people have while being together for the holidays, especially the children. Already Emma can hear the distant squeals of children laughing in the park as they play.

Emma looks up at the sky again, watching as it grows darker with the setting sun. It is plenty cold enough for snow, she thinks, but the clouds refuse to give up their load. A familiar prayer comes to her lips, one not spoken in years. She bites her bottom lip, hesitating, but then lets the words come forth in a whisper, "Please, Jack Frost, let it snow. I could really use a little magic right now."

* * *

**Jack POV**

While Jack Frost floats through the air, debating on if it is too early in the winter season to give the children of Burgess some snow, he notices the open window of Jamie's room. Deciding to pay his first believer a visit he flies over, but stops when he sees a stranger standing inside instead of the boy, staring out into the encroaching night. She's about seventeen, if Jack had to guess, around the age he was when he died and has been for the past three hundred years. Too old to be a believer, unfortunately, but it means he can get closer for a better look without freaking her out.

"So, stranger," Jack says aloud even though he knows she can't hear him. "What are you doing in my friend's room?"

Jack floats about a foot in front of the girl and studies her. Her long brown hair dances in the breeze, reminding Jack of autumn leaves. She is short for most girls her age, only coming up to his shoulder if Jack were to actually stand on the floor next to her. She has a small frame, but by the way she carries herself and the fire in her green eyes Jack can tell she is tougher than she looks. There is also something else in her eyes that Jack notices. Something hidden, buried deep down so no one sees it. Except now she is alone, or so she thinks, and is letting her guard down, if only just a little. Jack peers closer, their noses only inches away from touching. He can see a loneliness and sadness raging inside her. It reminds Jack of how he used to be before he started to be believed in and seen, before he became a Guardian, before he had a family. And yet it is a sadness far worse than no one even knowing you exist.

The girl's brow furrows and she bites her lip, fighting some conflict within herself. And then she speaks, barely a whisper, "Please, Jack Frost, let it snow. I could really use a little magic right now."

Jack jumps back away from her a few feet, eyes wide. "Do you see me?" he asks. When she doesn't answer he sighs. "I'll take that as a no. But you do know my name. Has Jamie told you about me?"

Jack flies into the room, careful not to touch her. He knows he'll only pass right through her, but it is an unnerving feeling that Jack tries to avoid. Looking around, he notices a few things that were not in Jamie's room the last time he was there, a suit case, a stack of books, a laptop, a family photo of the strange girl and people Jack can only guess to be her parents, smiling at the beach. A book opened on Jamie's bed catches his eye and he floats over to it. "Ah," Jack says as he looks at his own name staring back at him on the page. "So that's where you know me from."

Jack ponders for a moment how all of the spirits, like him, who are not well known, have made it into storybooks. He suspects it might me Man in the Moon's doing, lying a bit of groundwork so that they don't have to start entirely from scratch getting people to believe in them, but Jack never bothered to ask the other Guardians.

"Please, Jack Frost," the girl says again. Jack turns back to face her. Her sorrowful eyes are still gazing at the sky, hoping beyond hope.

"I don't think I could say no even if I tried." Jack slips back out of the room and into the cloudy sky. With a flick of his wrist his Sheppard's hook begins to glow a soft blue, feeding ice into the clouds, and a gentle blanket of white begins to fall.

Perhaps it's not too early in the winter season after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Emma POV**

When the first flake falls Emma believes she is seeing things. Wishful thinking. Or maybe it was just a speck of dust.

Then she sees another.

And another.

And another.

White crumbs are falling down from the sky, gentler than feathers. Mouth agape, eyes wide, Emma reaches out a hand as far as she can while holding onto the window frame. A snowflake drifts down to her hand, instantly melting when it touches her skin, leaving a spark of cold on her palm. Emma's mouth widens into a grin, her heart filling with a happiness she has not felt in a long time.

She didn't think it was true, she didn't think her prayers would finally be answered, but here it is. _Snow!_ Jack Frost finally heard her, if he really is out there somewhere.

Emma tugs on her boots, snatches up a hat and scarf, and races downstairs. She cuts through the living room and heads into the guest bedroom to tell her parents she's going out for a bit, but pauses in the doorway.

Her mother is lying on a twin bed, her green eyes closed, skin sickly white, bald head, once thick with brown hair, glistening in the light from the lamp on the nightstand next to her. Every time she takes a breath from the air mask covering her nose and mouth she makes this terrible wheezing noise, like it's a struggle to make her lungs expand even though her life depends on it. Emma is grateful for the heart monitor. Each beep is another assurance that her mother is going to live at least a little while longer.

Emma's father is passed out on the other bed, five empty beer bottles scattered across the floor, one half empty resting against his chest with his hand still wrapped around the neck. Emma sighs and massages her temple with her fingers, all previous excitement forgotten for the moment. Aunt Marcy doesn't like alcohol, especially around her kids, so how her father managed to sneak some in Emma isn't sure. She suspects it has something to do with the locked ice chest she can see behind the half-closed closet door. If Aunt Marcy finds out they will be kicked out for sure and there is no telling if her mom will make the trip back home this time, ambulance or not.

Her fingers reach up to brush against a small cross hanging on a thin chain resting a few inches below her collarbone, the cool metal against her skin comforting. It was her mother's, given to Emma when they first found out she had cancer. Her mom told her that, no matter what happens, she will always be with her to give her strength.

Emma needs that strength now.

Tip toeing as quietly as she can, Emma creeps over to her father and slowly pries his fingers away from the glass bottle. She then goes to the kitchen, empties the contents into the sink, grabs one of the plastic shopping bags her aunt likes to reuse, and goes to collect the rest of the bottles. _At least I still get to go outside to see the snow_ , Emma thinks to herself as she grabs her bright blue coat from the coat rack next to the front door. Once her hat and scarf are also in place she picks up her garbage and heads out into the cold.

The snow is even more beautiful than when she gazed at it out her window. It is completely dark by now, but she can still see the snowflakes sparkle in the light from the lamp post. On a whim, Emma tilts her head back and sticks out her tongue. It takes her a few patient minutes but she eventually catches a snowflake with her tongue, the cold sending pleasant chills down her spine. Getting back to her task, Emma deposits the trash into the garbage can sitting at the end of the driveway and turns to go back inside. Before closing the front door behind her, Emma stares back out at the snow and says, "Thank you for this. If you don't mind, though, please grant me one more wish? Please, Jack Frost, let it snow all through the night so that by morning everything is covered in white."

* * *

**Jack POV**

The look of disbelief on her face is priceless. Jack gets a little worried as the girl leans out the window precariously, but when she brightens into a grin he can't help but smile back. Almost all traces of sadness recede from her eyes, making Jack glad he could help her, even though he considers what he did really small. He's never seen anyone, not even a child, so happy to see a little snow.

The girl races out of Jamie's room and Jack floats down to the front yard to wait for her. After a few minutes she still hasn't come out, making Jack consider going inside the house to see what's taking so long, but then the door opens and she steps out into the snow. Jack looks into her eyes, hoping to see the fire there again that he saw earlier, but it isn't as bright now, causing him to frown.

"Hey, why so sad again?" he asks. "What possibly could have happened in the few minutes it took you to get out here?"

The girl tilts her head back suddenly, sticking her tongue out, and Jack chuckles, musings forgotten. He's seen kids do that so many times over the centuries, but never someone as old as her.

Jack walks next to her as she gets rid of her garbage and walks her back to the house. As she's about to close the door behind her she pauses and looks directly at Jack, almost as if she can see him even though he knows she can't. Then she says, "Thank you for this. If you don't mind, though, please grant me one more wish? Please, Jack Frost, let it snow all through the night so that by morning everything is covered in white."

Jack grins. "I was hoping you'd say that."

* * *

After feeding the sky some more ice, ensuring the girl's wish will be granted, Jack flies up to the still open window to go in search of Jamie. Jack looks in other rooms down the hall and almost runs through Jamie's mom as she walks out of Sophie's room. With a "Goodnight, you two" she shuts the bedroom door and heads for her own room.

When the mom is out of sight Jack quietly opens Sophie's door and slips inside. He raises an eyebrow at the sight of Jamie and Sophie sleeping side by side in the little girl's bed.

"So," Jack says, "what's going on, guys?"

Jamie opens his eyes and gasps in surprise while Sophie remains soundly asleep.

"Jack!" Jamie yells as he tries to detach himself from the covers.

"Shhh!" Jack holds a finger to his lips. "Do you want your mom to come back in here?"

Jamie cringes, glancing at the door. When he doesn't hear any footsteps heading for their door, the boy tiptoes over to Jack and gives him a hug.

"Where have you been?" Jamie whispers.

"You know. Around." Jack floats in the air in front of the boy while sitting cross-legged, his staff resting in the crook of his arm. "Winter did only just get here."

"I know that, but you could have still visited."

Jack smirks, glad his first believer missed him. "So, why are you sleeping in Sophie's room and who's that girl in your room?"

"You mean Emma?"

Jack rubs his chin in thought. "So that's her name…."

Jamie nods. "Yeah, she and her mom and dad just got here today. Her mom's really sick so they've come to live with us for a little while. While they're here Emma's staying in my room and I'm stuck sharing with Sophie." He grimaces at the last part.

Jack's brow furrows. "Is it serious, what her mom has?"

The boy shrugs. "I don't know. They won't really tell me anything cause I'm just a kid and they think I won't understand. But…I think it's bad. Aunt Grace is a lot skinnier than she used to be and she has to where this breathing mask thing and she looks as pale as you."

_I wonder if that's why she looks so sad_ , Jack thinks to himself.

The two freeze when they hear footsteps coming and look at the door, but the feet keep moving and then they hear the sound of Jamie's bedroom door opening and closing.

_Emma…I wish I could do something more for her. But she can't see me._ Jack turns towards the window and stares at the falling snow. An idea starts to slowly form in his mind. _She did ask me for snow, and it wasn't a general wish. She asked me specifically. And she has that book about me. I'm sure the other Guardians are in it, too, so it's not like she's totally against the idea that we exist. Maybe, just maybe…._

Jack looks at Jamie, a mischievous smile spreading across his face that the boy knows all too well. He grins back.

"Hey, Jamie, you wanna have a little fun tomorrow?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Emma POV**

Emma wakes to the sound of something hitting her window with a soft _splush_. She jolts upright in bed, disoriented for a minute by the unfamiliar surroundings. _Oh, right, Jamie's room,_ she remembers foggily. Glancing at the red numbers of the alarm clock on the nightstand Emma falls back down on the bed, dictating 8:30 A.M. too early to get up while on vacation, and covers her head with the blankets.

_Splush._

Emma groans, reluctant to leave her cozy haven to go see what it is hitting the window. Hoping whatever it is will stop on its own she turns around to face the opposite wall and attempts to doze for a little while longer.

_Splush._

"Go away," she grumbles. Another _splush_ is her answer as if the source of the noise can hear her. With a heavy sigh Emma uncovers her head and stares at the window waiting for the sound again.

Something white hits the window, making the irritating noise that woke her, and breaks up on impact into little flakes. Emma sits up in bed again. _Was that…a snowball?_

She gets up, the wooden floor cold beneath her bare feet, and slowly walks over to the window suspiciously. Glancing out at the front yard, Emma is just in time to see another snowball flying through the air, causing her to jump a little when it hits the glass. She scans the yard looking for who could have thrown it but no one is there.

"What in the world is going…," her words fade when she realizes what she is staring at and her eyes widen in awe. Every tree branch, every roof, every car, every inch of the ground, is covered in snow that glistens in the sunlight like diamonds. "Oh, wow…."

"Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma!" someone yells as running feet stomp up the stairs. Emma turns just as her door slams open. Jamie runs up to her, wearing jeans, boots, and a thick green jacket, and yanks on her arm. "Come on, Emma. Come on! We gotta go!"

"Go?" she says with a laugh. "Go where?"

"Outside to see Ja-I mean the snow! We gotta go see the snow! It's you're first time, right?" She nods as she allows the boy to drag her towards the door but Aunt Marcy stops him in the doorway holding Sophie in her arms, who's also wearing winter clothes.

"She can't really go out like that, now can she, Jamie?" Aunt Marcy asks, her brown pony tail swaying as she shakes her head at the silly thought. "Let her get dressed first."

Jamie nods reluctantly and Aunt Marcy puts Sophie down. The two kids go downstairs to wait for Emma.

"Sorry about that. He's more rambunctious than usual this morning."

Emma laughs. "That's okay. Guess I better get dressed in a hurry."

Aunt Marcy looks at her apologetically. "Are you really okay going outside to play with them for a bit? I'd go myself, but I have to do chores around the house today. And they do seem really particular that you go with them."

"It fine. I don't mind. But could you just…," Emma lets the sentence hang as her mind drifts to her mother lying downstairs and her face falls again.

Aunt Marcy's brown eyes soften. "I think both of your parents are still asleep, but don't worry. I'll look after things for you."

The corners of Emma's mouth tilt up slightly as she reaches for her hairbrush sitting on the dresser. "Thanks."

Stepping onto the snow for the first time, the light _crunch_ it makes beneath her boots, is like a dream. Emma knew it would happen eventually, Christmas is only two weeks away, it's the heart of the winter season in Burgess even though it is not technically winter yet, but she still could not imagine ever seeing something so beautiful in her life.

An impossible dream.

"Thank you, Jack Frost," Emma whispers quietly as her two little cousins race out into the yard and start to gather up snow in their hands.

"Come on, Emma," Jamie calls. "Help us make a snowman!"

Emma grins as she goes to him and helps roll a ball of snow on the ground to build up the base. _I'm making my first snowman!_

Once the body is done they contemplate on how to decorate him. Sophie goes and asks her mom for a carrot for the nose, Jamie scrounges up some Fruit Loops for the eyes and mouth, and Emma sacrifices my scarf.

"You better take good care of this scarf, Mr. Snowman."

"Jack! Jack! Jack!" Sophie squeals while looking at the air right above the snowman. Jamie tries to shush his sister for some reason but Emma just shrugs it off.

"Alright, you better take good care of this scarf, Jack. My mom crocheted this for me herself. I _will_ clobber the crap out of you if you mess it up."

_Splush_.

A snowball blindsides Emma right in the face, the icy frost biting into her skin, but then her heart starts to feel lighter and an unsolicited smile warms her face.

"Okay, which one of you threw that?"

"Neither of us did," Jamie says nonchalantly. "It was Jack Frost."

That sends Emma for a loop. _Okay, didn't expect that one. But he's still young enough to believe in all of that fairy tale stuff, right? Although I have been asking him to grant wishes myself lately._

She shakes it off, bends down, and scoops up a nice sized snowball. "Sure, don't take the blame yourself. But it won't help. I know it was you Jamie Bennett!" Emma throws the snowball, perfectly aimed for his head, but he ducks at the last minute.

"Come on, Soph. Me, you, and Jack against Emma!" Jamie throws another snowball at Emma but she hides behind Jack the Snowman for cover. Sophie tries her best to make a snowball but all her little hands manage to do is scatter a bunch of snow right in front of her. This still doesn't stop her from chasing Emma around the yard while trying to splash her with the flurries.

"No fair! I'm out numbered!" Emma dodges another one of Jamie's throws, but then a snowball appears out of nowhere and pegs her in the face again.

"Nice one, Jack!" Jamie cheers.

_How did he do that? That ball came from in front of me._ She turns around to face Jamie and Sophie, eying them warily.

_Splush._

Another snowball hits her in the back of the head.

Emma whirls around, brushing snow out of her hair. "Who did that?"

"Jack Frost did," Jamie says.

_Splush_.

She's hit again, this time from the side. The children haven't moved an inch.

"Seriously, who's doing that?"

"I told you. It's Jack Frost."

"But Jack Frost doesn't exist…does…he?" Snowballs don't just appear out of thin air, and yet these were. And it wasn't supposed to snow this weekend, and yet it had because she had asked _Jack Frost_ to make it snow. Emma has always wanted magic to exist in the world, her mother told her to hold on to that dream as best she could, but she never really thought….

A rose made completely out of ice forms in the air in front of Emma. She reaches out a shaky hand and grasps the stem delicately.

"Jack…Frost…?"

Emma's eyes widen to saucers and her jaw drops as a pale hand appears holding the stem just millimeters above her own hand. Her eyes slowly follow the connecting limbs: Lithe arms and chest covered in a hoodie almost the same shade of blue as her coat. Long, athletic legs wearing ratted pants connected to bare feet. Up to a grinning face, pale, ice-blue eyes, and snowy hair.

"Jack Frost."


	4. Chapter 4

**Jack POV**

"Can you see me?" Jack asks.

Emma nods, unable to say or do anything besides openly gape at him. Jack decides her astonished expression is rather cute.

His grin broadens even more. "You can see me? You can really see me?"

She nods again.

A cool breath of relief releases from Jack's chest, something he didn't realizing he had been holding. He jumps high into the air, spinning in circles while laughing in delight, and lands back on the ground. Gaining a new believer still excites Jack to no end, just as much as when Jamie first believed, even though the number of kids who believe in him now has been steadily growing for the past several months.

But something feels different about this believer, Jack admits. He doesn't know what or why, maybe simply because she is the same age as him, but something feels…special about her.

Jack flies over to Jamie and holds up a hand. "Nice work, Jamie. Couldn't have done it without you."

Jamie high-fives him. "Yeah! I knew we could do it!" Jack bends down and gives Sophie a high-five too.

"I'm not going crazy, am I?" Emma asks when she finally finds her voice.

Jack laughs. "No, you're not going crazy. If you were, then Jamie and Sophie and a lot of other kids would be crazy, too."

Emma walks over to him and pokes him in the chest with her index finger.

One of Jack's eyebrows arches. "What are you doing?"

"Just making sure." She pokes him again. "You feel real enough, I guess. Really cold though."

"I am the Spirit of Winter. What did you expect?"

"Not a teenager in a hoodie carrying a stick."

"Hey, this is no ordinary stick." Jack twirls his staff in one hand and touches the end of it to the ice rose Emma is still holding. It bursts into a flurry of snow. "It's a magic staff. The conduit for my power."

"Wow," Emma says in wonder as the snowflakes float away. "Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

She smiles and Jack sees some of the fire in her eyes. "For making it snow. You heard me wishing for it last night, right?"

Jack smirks. "Yeah, I did. You're welcome."

"Oh, and Jack?"

"Yeah?"

_Splush._

Emma hits Jack right in the face with a snowball, leaving him stunned for a second. Jamie and Sophie burst out laughing.

"Gotcha," Emma giggles and goes to hide behind the snowman.

A mischievous grin spreads across Jack's face. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that."

The four of them throw snowballs at each other for the next hour, this time Emma, Jamie, and Sophie against Jack. All the time, Jack is watching Emma, watching the fire in her eyes grow and the sadness get smaller and smaller and her smile get bigger and bigger. It is an infectious smile. A beautiful smile, Jack decides.

"Emma!" Everyone turns to see Jamie's mom standing on the porch. "You're mom is awake. You should all probably come in now anyway. It's about lunchtime."

Instantly, the fire in Emma's eyes dies and the sadness resurfaces. The smile fades until it is barely there. Jack can only watch. He wishes he knew what to do to stop that fire from being smothered.

"Okay," Emma says with a quiet voice and brushes the snow off of her. She goes to follow her cousins into the house, but when her aunt is out of sight Emma turns back to Jack. "Will I see you again later?"

Jack gives her a half smile. "Of course."

Because Jack can't say no to her even if he tries

* * *

**Emma POV**

Emma knocks on the guest room door softly. When there is no answer she opens it and peaks her head in. Her mom is still resting quietly, eyes closed, and the sound of running water coming from the guest bathroom tells her that her father is taking a shower.

She sighs and pulls the desk chair up to her mom's bed. Emma sits and takes her mom's hand gently into her own, afraid that something so thin and frail looking might break at the slightest pressure.

"Emma," a muffled voice rasps. Emma looks up to see her mom's green eyes looking at her.

Emma smiles as much as she can without it looking too forced. "Hey, mom. How are you feeling today?"

"Not too bad," she says slowly, as if each word is a struggle to say. "How was the trip to Burgess? Did we all make it in one piece?"

Emma smiles a little more, this time not so forced. "Yeah, we did. Aunt Marcy has been very good to us and Jamie and Sophie are a lot of fun. I was actually playing outside with them in the snow when you woke up."

"It's snowing?" she asks with wide eyes. "I haven't seen snow in so long. I bet it looks so magical outside right now."

"Yeah, it does." Emma pauses for a moment, trying to find the right words for her next question. "Mom, do you remember how you told me to never stop believing in magic?"

"Yep," she coughs, a gnarling sound echoing deep in her chest. "You haven't stopped, have you?"

Emma shakes her head.

"Good. Now, what are you trying to say?"

"Well," Emma bights her lip. "A lot has happened today and I wanted to know…I was wondering if you…if you maybe still believed in magic, and, if you did, then do you think that it's crazy to believe that someone like Jac-"

She stops when her mom starts coughing again, worse this time, and some blood starts to drip from her mom's mouth.

"Mom! Are you okay?"

Before Emma can do anything, the bathroom door crashes open and her father rushes to her mom's side, still dripping wet wearing the same clothes from the day before. He glares at Emma as the coughing slowly subsides and he wipes the blood off of his wife's chin. She begins to relax and drifts off to sleep again, all energy suddenly gone.

"What happened during the fifteen minutes I was in the shower?" he asks Emma accusingly.

"We were just talking…."

"Talking! She's too weak to talk right now, you should know better than that. Do you want to make her worse?"

"Of course not," Emma says quietly while staring down at her hands lying in her lap, afraid to even look at her father. His anger is just so easy to set off lately, ever since the diagnosis and the drinking started.

He scoffs. "Now get out before you do something else stupid." Emma glances at her mom once more and then gets up to leave. Her father takes the chair she once occupied.

Her father has not been taking any of this well at all, and Emma is afraid that it will only get worse, especially since they both know that her mom isn't going to be getting any better.


	5. Chapter 5

**Emma POV**

After the incident with her father, Emma retreats into her room, not wanting anyone to see how upset she is. Tears threaten to leak down her face, but she stubbornly pushes them back. Tears are useless. They won't lick her wounds clean, they won't make her father any less of a drunken, angry mess. They won't heal her mother.

Instead of crying she decides to escape from the world, turning to her books. But none of the stories she loves so much, that have gotten her through many a darkened patch in life, seem sufficient enough to drown herself in.

Then her eyes fall upon the collection of fairy tales and myths. Only now she knows that many of the myths are actually real. That magic is real.

Emma picks up the book and crawls into bed. For several hours she reads through the stories of all of the people and creatures she used to believe were make-believe, only stopping twice, first to fix herself a bowl of ramen to eat back in her room and then again later to take a quick shower. As she reads through how each of these myths came to be, she can't help but wonder how accurate they are. _Maybe I'll ask Jack the next time I see him. Whenever that'll be._

As the hours race each other throughout the night sleep never comes to Emma. She is still awake when snow starts to fall from her ceiling. She doesn't actually notice it until a flake falls onto the page she is reading, slightly dampening the paper. She pulls her head out of the magical world she had immersed herself in only to come back to a world that is now equally magical.

A smile blooms across Emma's face.

Someone knocks on the window and she turns to see Jack Frost floating outside with a grin matching hers.

Emma quickly scrambles out of bed to let him in.

"Hey," she says. "What are you doing out so late?"

"I was in the neighborhood, you know, keeping things cool." Jack floats into her room and his feet land silently on the floor. "Saw that your light was still on so I decided to drop by."

"Aren't you tired?"

"Nah, we spirits don't have to sleep as much as you all, only when our powers are really drained. What about you, what are you still doing up?"

She shrugs. "Oh, you know, just reading."

"At two in the morning?"

"Wow," Emma's eyes dart to the clock. "Didn't realize it was that late. Oh well, I get to sleep in as much as I want anyways."

"You're sleep pattern is going to get really messed up if you do this too often, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Emma sits on the bed cross-legged in front of her pillow and Jack joins her, sitting on the end of the bed, and lays his staff across his lap. "But it's not like I can do much about it anyway."

Jack's brow furrows. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that insomnia has become my best friend lately," she says with a sad smile.

They fall silent for a few moments when it's clear she doesn't want to elaborate.

Emma breaks the silence first, "So, you really don't need sleep?"

Jack smirks. "Nope, not really. Don't need to eat either."

Emma's eyes widen.

"Not that we can't," he clarifies quickly. "It's just that we don't need to. But we can eat if we want. North goes through, like, ten tons of cookies a day."

"Who's North?"

"Santa Clause. It's his actual name."

"So Santa Clause is real, too," Emma whispers in awe. "Who else is real?"

Jack starts counting off on his fingers. "Well, there's the Leprechaun, Groundhog, Sandman, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, basically everyone you've ever heard of, especially anyone related to a holiday."

"So now that I see you, will I be able to see all of the others too?"

"So long as you believe in them, then yes."

Emma smiles. She can't believe the impossibility of this conversation. She's sitting in her room with _Jack Frost_ talking about _Santa Clause_ and the _Tooth Fairy_ being real. She suddenly can't wait for Christmas to get here, already plotting on how to catch Santa leaving presents under the tree.

"Anymore questions?" Jack asks.

Emma bites her lip and looks at her hands twisting together in her lap. "Sorry, am I annoying you?"

"Of course not," he says with a laugh. "This is nothing compared to Jamie. I swear, every time I saw the kid he had a thousand more questions he wanted to ask." Jack tilts his head down to the side, trying to get a look at her through the curtain of wavy hair hiding her face. "Seriously, I don't mind. Don't get shy on me now."

She tilts her head up a little and glances at him, hoping her hair is hiding her slight blush. "But it's what I'm used to. I've always been the quiet one among the few friends I have back home. I'd always rather have my nose stuck in a book than gossiping about boys or clothes."

"You could have fooled me after today."

"Yeah, me too." Emma lifts her face and meets his ice-blue eyes. "It's easy, for some reason, being with you, hanging out like this. Normally I wouldn't have said two words to some boy I just met, let alone throw a snowball at you."

Jack chuckles. "I guess you just couldn't resist my charms." Emma tries to kick him off the bed but Jack floats away, landing just out of her reach. "That was a very good throw, by the way."

"Why thank you," she says with a smile. "Pretty good for someone who's never seen snow, huh?"

"You've never seen snow before?" he asks incredulously.

"Nope. I've lived in Florida my whole life and apparently you don't visit Florida very much."

"So you've never had a snowball fight or made a snowman before today?"

"Nope."

"And you've never been sledding or ice skating or any other awesome winter fun?"

"Nope."

A mischievous grin spreads across Jack's face. "Well, we're going to have to change that."

* * *

**Pitch POV**

Pitch emerges from the shadows to find himself standing in front of a house he's seen before.

"Humph. Jack's first believer," he says to himself disgustedly. "Jamie, I believe his name was. What's got you so scared?" Pitch has been sensing a tremendous fear for the past two days, all coming from one child as far as he can tell. It was strong enough to revive him from the ashes his own Nightmares left him in after those imbecile Guardians defeated him several months ago.

And this sweet, blessed fear is strong enough to help Pitch become more powerful than ever before.

Pitch slips into the shadows once again, using the passages only he can travel to move into the bedroom of the small believer. Only instead of a little boy he finds a teenage girl, golden sand creating shapes above her head as she dreams peaceful dreams with the help of Sandman.

"Interesting," he mumbles, studying the girl with deep interest. "I wouldn't have been able to taste your fear if you weren't a believer, but never in all my years have I seen a believer so old." He inhales deeply through his nose, nostrils flaring. "And I've certainly never seen a fear quite so potent as yours. Almost no friends, no true friends anyway whom you are really close to. Sick, dying mother. Nothing you can do to save her. Drunken father, falling deeper and deeper into despair. Afraid you won't be able to save him either." Pitch smiles wickedly. "And you're probably right about that."

He steps closer to her and caresses her tousled auburn hair. "You are so afraid you are soon to be all alone. What a lovely Nightmare you will make for me." He looks toward the dream, reaching out a finger to plunge the sand and the girl's mind into darkness, but suddenly stops when he gets a good look at what she is dreaming about.

Two golden figures are chasing each other above the girls head, throwing small orbs at each other. One is obviously her, but it is the other figure, the one with the staff Pitch would recognize anywhere, which sets his blood to boiling.

"Jack Frost," he snaps. "No wonder this girl believes. Undoubtedly, the boy was desperate to make her believe in him. Even with the Guardians he is still so lonely, still yearning to be with someone his own age." Pitch laughs, high and maniacal. "How pathetic."

Pitch touches the golden sand and watches with a smile as each grain turns black. The girl begins to toss and turn, the covers twisting in her legs, as she is cast into the shadows of a nightmare.

Once the gold is completely eradicated the sand reforms into a Nightmare dragon, yellow eyes burning, powerful wings stretching almost the entire length of the room. It is at least twice as large as any of the horses Pitch has made before.

Pitch reaches out a hand to pet the Nightmare's long snout lovingly.

"Yes, this revenge will be sweet indeed."


	6. Chapter 6

**Emma POV**

Emma wakes to aching muscles. She groans as she stretches her arms and legs, pain snaking its way all over her body. They must have been tensing all night as she was tortured with nightmares. The awful dreams are not new to Emma, she's been having them ever since the diagnosis, but they seemed particularly bad this time. She rubs her eyes, wishing to rub the disturbing images from her mind away as well. Over and over again she watched her mom die right in front of her. She tried to run to her mom, but her legs never carried her fast enough. And then her dad appeared, taunting Emma, blaming her for his wife's death.

Then his eyes started to glow a piercing yellow, wings sprouted from his back, and his skin grew black scales. Emma watched in horror as her father turned into a massive black dragon.

And then he ate her whole.

She hadn't woken once last night, but it was not a particularly restful sleep. Her mind had been trapped in the endless cycle. Dying mom, dragon dad. Dying mom, dragon dad.

Dying mom.

Emma is snapped from her thoughts by a knocking on her window. A small smile lights her face, pushing the tiredness away. There can only be one person at her window. She gets out of bed and draws the curtains aside. Jack is hovering in the air and grins when he sees her.

"Your hair is a mess, you know that?" he asks when Emma opens the window to let him in.

"Gee, thanks," Emma touches her hair self-consciously and blushes. She figures she must look like Medusa, her hair in a tangle of unruly curls sticking out in every direction. Her hair never likes to behave until she takes a straightener to it.

"It's true." He tilts his head in order to catch her averted gaze. "You look really cute like this."

Emma blushes even more with a mumbled thanks and crosses her arms in front of her chest. She can feel her walls coming back into place, the initial shock and wonder of magic being real that had lowered her defenses dissipated sometime after Jack left last night. She doesn't know where to go from here, so she reverted back to her normal shy self.

She wonders for a moment how long Jack is going to stick around before he gets bored with this stupidly shy, silly little girl.

"So," she says, "what brings you here this morning?"

"I told you, I'm going to give you the best winter ever."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. I said I would. You doubted me?"

She shrugs. "Most people don't really like hanging out with me much."

Emma expects to see pity in his eyes. She doesn't want anyone's pity. The people who've been with her out of pity in the past only ever ended up hurting her worse. But as Jack looks at her, leaning against his staff, she sees warmth and determination.

He grabs her hand, his cold skin sending a shiver down her spine, but it is unusually not unpleasant.

"Well, I'm not like those other people. I think you're fun to hang out with. Those other people are stupid and I would turn them into ice cubes if I knew who they were."

This get Jack a small giggle and he smiles at his success.

He pulls Emma toward the window. "Now, come on, we have lots to do."

"Um, Jack?"

He reopens the window and looks at her over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"I don't think I can go outside dressed like this." Emma glances down at her baggy, dark blue t-shirt and snowflake pajama pants.

Jack drops her hand and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. Emma finds she misses the touch.

"Right. Sorry. Well, get changed as fast as you can and meet me outside. Grab Jamie and Sophie, too. Oh, and tell Jamie to bring his sled." Jack steps onto the windowsill. "See you in a bit, Snowflake."

The blush returns at the use of a nickname but she tries to push it down. A mischievous grin reappears on Jack's face that Emma is starting to become familiar with and she watches him warily as he jumps into the wind.

* * *

**Jack POV**

Emma, Jamie, and Sophie follow Jack to the park Emma saw from her bedroom window. No other kids are out yet, still snuggled cozily in their warm beds, so it is a peaceful morning. The park is dotted with snow-peppered trees with a path flowing among them and the occasional bench. At one end of the park is a playground complete with a tall metal slide, jungle-gym, and swing set. Everywhere else is open grass, which is now buried beneath a blanket of snow at least a foot thick.

Jack stops in a nice, wide open area and turns to face his believers. It's the perfect place for what he has in mind and he can't wait to see the look on Emma's face. "Alright, since Emma has never been sledding before, we'll let her go first."

"Don't we kind of need a hill or something in order to go sledding?" Emma asks.

Jamie grins. "Not when you go sledding with Jack!"

Emma turns to Sophie, who is clapping her hands and jumping up and down in excitement, and then looks back at Jamie. "Should I be worried?"

"Nah, the first time I went sledding with Jack was awesome! He sent me flying into the street and weaving around-" Jamie gets cut off by Jack's hand which is now covering the boy's mouth.

"No need to give away the surprise, little buddy," Jack says.

More like no need to scare her off before she even tries it.

Emma's eyes narrow at him, but she still takes the sled Jamie is holding. "Okay, so what do I do?"

Jack jumps into the air and hovers in front of her. "All you need to do is get into a fast run and, when I tell you to, jump forward and onto the sled. After that, just hold on tight." Jack takes hold of her shoulders and turns her toward the playground. "Now start running."

Emma just stands there for a moment, hesitating, and Jack is afraid she'll back down. Not that it wouldn't be alright for her to back down, because it's okay if she's scared, but he really wants her to have fun and he thinks she'll really like this. Jack feels that there is a wonderful side of Emma just waiting to bloom, if only she would open up even just a little bit to let him see it. But it's buried beneath scars he can't even begin to imagine. There is a sadness and loneliness in her eyes that stifles the fire in them.

Maybe having a little fun will help stoke that flame.

Emma takes a deep breath and starts running. Jack smiles and flies out in front of her. When she gets to a good speed Jack yells "Now!" and she leaps forward, careful the keep the sled beneath her so she'll land on it on her stomach. The sled and Emma hit the path of ice Jack creates with a hard _thunk_ , Emma's momentum keeping her going until Jack asks the wind to help her go faster.

"Buckle up!" Jack yells and Emma's grip tightens on the handrail, her eyes going wide.

Emma is racing between trees missing them only by inches on the ice path Jack makes, always sure to keep it forming a few yards in front of her. Jack has her take a sharp turn to the right, tilting the path up to angle her into the curve and make her go faster. When she gets fast enough he creates a hill high enough to where Emma could reach out and touch the branches of the trees if she wanted to, then puts her in a spiral rocketing back to the ground.

Emma's face slowly morphs into a wide grin and her eyes fill with excitement. She laughs with joy as Jack sends her into a loop-de-loop and he can't help but laugh with her.

Jack sends Emma all over the park, keeping her on a fast track better than any rollercoaster. When he finally decides that his ride needs an end he creates a ramp for Emma to shoot off of and a huge pile of snow to cushion her fall.

The thing is, Emma is going a lot faster than Jack thought and overshoots the pile of snow, heading straight for a tree trunk. Emma cries out in fear and lets go of the sled in order to cover her head with her arms.

Jack flies forward and catches her just in time, one arm going around her shoulders and his arm holding his staff cradling her legs beneath her knees.

Jack sighs in relief, his breath coming out a little shaky. "That was a close one."

Emma slowly lowers her arms and opens her eyes. She's still shaking from the adrenalin coursing through her veins caused by the excitement from her wild ride and the fear of almost breaking her neck. Then she realizes she's in Jack's arms, blushes, and looks away. Jack is about to tease her and her bright red cheeks when he sees her eyes widen in fear again.

"Oh, gosh," she squeaks and her arms wrap around Jack's neck a little too tightly.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"So…so high," she says, her voice laced with an edge of panic. "Why are we so high?"

Jack looks down. He had been letting the wind carry them gently upward and they were now well near the tops of the trees. He smirks. "What, you don't like heights?"

Emma shakes her head vigorously. "Me and heights are _so_ not friends. Can we please get back to the ground?"

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad up here." Jack rises higher into the air as Emma watches Jamie's and Sophie's figures on the ground get smaller and smaller. Soon she can't take it anymore and hides her face in Jack's shoulder.

"Jack, please, I'm scared," she whimpers.

Jack drops all playfulness. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe with me. I won't let you fall, Snowflake."

"Promise?"

He holds her closer. "Promise. Now please come out of hiding? You really should see this."

Emma slowly lifts her head and gasps at the view. They are really high in the sky now and all of Burgess can be seen, the small town glistening like precious gems as the sun reflects off of the perfect whiteness of the snow.

"It's beautiful," she whispers.

Jack looks at Emma's face, his eyes flowing across her soft, slightly tanned skin, her delicate cheekbones, the slight freckling on her nose, her parted lips.

"Yeah. Beautiful."

Emma feels his eyes on her. She turns her head to look at him and freezes, her green eyes meeting his ice blue.

They are _so close_ to each other, the tips of their noses almost touching.

Jack and Emma stare at each other for an endless moment, a charged anticipation flowing between them.

"Hey!" the wind carries a small cry to their ears and they both blink a few times before looking down. Jamie is waving his arms above his head trying to get their attention.

"W-we should probably get back to my cousins," Emma stutters with enflamed cheeks. "Jamie probably wants to go sledding next."

Jack gulps before answering, "Right."

Jack feels his own blush dusting his cheeks and he tries to push it down. He's not sure exactly what just happened there.

But he would definitely like another chance to find out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Emma POV**

Emma takes the stairs down two at a time and heads toward the kitchen. Jack had said that he would be a little late picking her and her cousins up this morning for some more winter fun, but her excitement is making her jittery. She wants to be sure she's ready when he shows.

She looks at her watch for the tenth time since waking up.

She really hopes he'll get here soon.

Emma grabs a quick breakfast of cereal and sits down at the dining table with Jamie and Sophie, both already wolfing down their own breakfasts. Aunt Marcy left already for work and it is Emma's father's job to look after them all while she is away, but Emma knows he probably won't. Every day he doesn't leave his wife's side. Every night he falls asleep surrounded by beer bottles. Every night Emma hides the evidence, but she knows this can't last for much longer. Her mom's deteriorating state combined with her father's increasing abuse of alcohol has been making his temper flare more and more. He's only ever snapped at Emma, though. He acts like a gentleman whenever Aunt Marcy or the kids are around and he's been careful not to get too loud when he gets angry

But, again, this can't last for much longer. Her aunt will eventually find out about the alcohol or her dad will eventually fall over the edge.

Emma fears that day almost as much as the day when her mom will finally have to leave.

After finishing her breakfast Emma puts her dishes in the sink, grabs a glass of water, and then quietly enters her parents' room. Her mom is sleeping peacefully, as always, and her father is snoring loudly in the other bed. She places the glass of water on her father's nightstand next to a bottle of aspirin that is already waiting for him to take to quell the headache he is sure to have from yet another hangover. She looks at her father's sleeping form, debating for a second, and then fishes out a small box of mints from her jeans' pocket and puts it next to the aspirin.

With a sigh Emma sits in the chair next to her mom's bed. Her mom has gotten worse. She's skinnier than when they first arrived in Burgess, if that's even possible, and she's eating less and less whenever she's awake, which isn't very often now, maybe two or three times a day and never for very long. At most she's been able to stay awake for maybe an hour. It's like her mind is retreating into itself in order to protect itself from the pain her body is in.

A doctor is supposed to come by in a couple of days and check on her. Emma can already tell what he is going to say.

At this rate, her mom has less than the promised three months to live.

Emma can't imagine life without her mom. Her mom, her best friend, her counselor, her shoulder to cry on, her strongest pillar of support. She can make Emma laugh even when Emma doesn't feel like laughing. Her mom has listened to all of her deepest, darkest secrets, has been there for Emma when no one else would. Emma doesn't have many friends, but that never really bothered her before because her mom has filled that void.

But soon she will be gone.

How is it that magic exists in this world but her mom is still dying?

Her father shifts on the bed and opens his bleary eyes with a groan. He just lays there for a moment staring up at the ceiling trying to get his mind to focus. Then he reaches for the aspirin and glass of water, never saying a word of thanks, as always. Emma quickly diverts her gaze.

Even the littlest things can set him off. Sometimes even simply her presence will make him angry.

After gulping down three aspirin her father sets the glass back down and notices the box of mints. He picks them up, stares at them for a few minutes, and then squints at Emma.

"What're these?" he asks, his words coming out gravely and slurred together.

"Mints," Emma replies, her eyes focused on her mother's face. She reaches up to touch the cross that is hanging around her neck beneath her blue turtleneck sweater.

"And why do I have mints? Are you trying to say I have bad breath?" His voice is becoming stronger, more articulate, despite his fogged mind and Emma knows she is in trouble. Anger can snap him back together really fast no matter how hungover he gets.

"You've been drinking every night," she says carefully, slowly, like she would a feral dog. "Your breath is going to smell like alcohol no matter how much you brush your teeth and if you don't do something to try and cover it up, then Aunt Marcy is going to notice. She'll kick us out."

"We'll be fine so long as you keep your mouth shut," he hisses. "And keep your nose out of my business. I'm fine! I don't need you taking care of me." He stalks over to her and Emma's heart jumps in her chest. For one agonizing second, as his hand reaches out toward her, she wonders if she went too far and this is it. This is the edge and he's finally tipping forward. He grabs Emma roughly around the forearm and yanks her out of the chair, taking the seat for himself while growling, "Get out."

Emma leaves the room without another word massaging her now sore arm. She can already feel a bruise forming. But it could have been worse.

What happened to the man who chased the boogeyman out of her closet, tickled her relentlessly, and taught her how to drive?

What happened to her daddy? Or was he, deep down, always this uncaring man?

Emma escapes into her room and takes out her drawing pad. Her mind feels too crowded with too many emotions for books to provide much of an escape. But drawing, drawing is a medium of relaxation that always works. She can paint, use charcoal, and draw with colored pencils, but she prefers simple graphite. Emma loves the feel of the graphite on her skin as she uses the side of her hand to smudge the lead from her number two, number four, and number six pencils together on the paper to create shadow and depth.

She pours all of her emotions into her work, all of her frustration and sadness and loneliness and pain, letting them flow onto the paper to create a profile of her mom, her nice, healthy, cancer-free mom, completely from memory.

Emma finishes the drawing in about an hour. She sets the pad on the desk and leans back in the chair admiring her work. It turned out really well this time, one of her best yet, especially the eyes. They almost sparkle on the page.

She wishes they still sparkled like that.

"Who's that?" a voice asks very close to her head.

"Holy crap!" Emma jumps up, turns around, and backs up against the desk in one quick motion, her heart hammering painfully in her chest. She thinks about grabbing one of her heavier books as a weapon but then she gets a good look at who her attacker is. Fear turns into irritation. "Jack Frost, you scared the crap out of me! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

Jack is leaning against his staff trying very unsuccessfully to hold in laughter. "I did knock, you just didn't hear me. You were too busy working on your drawing and the window was unlocked, so I just let myself in."

Emma mentally kicks herself. She had left the window unlocked in case Jack showed up while she was downstairs, but still, "Okay, fine, but that's still no reason to scare me half to death."

Jack gives her a lopsided grin. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

She knows from that mischievous glint in his eye that he isn't really sorry but she lets it go anyway with a sigh. "So how long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," Jack says with a shrug of his shoulders. "Your drawing is really good. So who is it? She looks like an older version of you."

Emma picks up her pad and stares at the drawing for a moment. She does get most of looks from her mom. They have the same brown hair and green eyes, not that you can see that in her drawing, but they do also have the same nose, chin, and high cheek bones, if she looks close enough. But what they share in looks they differ in personality. Her mom has always been so outgoing and adventurous, never afraid to speak her mind, while Emma is shy and introverted.

She hands the pad to Jack. "This isn't me. It's my mother."

"Ah, I see," his eyes dart over the drawing taking in every detail. "You look a lot like her." Jack gives her back the drawing. "She's very beautiful."

Emma blushes, not sure if he is implying that she is beautiful as well or if he is just saying that the drawing is beautiful.

The way he holds her eyes with his makes her wonder.

"So," Emma says, quickly changing the subject, "what are we doing today?"

The mischievous smile returns. "Come with me and find out."

* * *

Jack takes Emma, Jamie, and Sophie back to the park again. Only the park is different this time. _Very_ different.

On opposite sides of the small park now stand two forts made of ice, each resembling a castle. Three walls connected with two towers make up the forts with a parapet on top. Lining the parapets and towers sit what appear to be ice cannons. And standing between the two forts is a group of maybe twenty or so children, soldiers ready for orders.

"No way," Emma whispers in amazement.

Jack grins at her. "That snowball fight we had the other day was kind of small, so I thought we'd have a proper snowball fight. Jamie, Sophie, go on over and join the others."

Jamie and Sophie run over to the other kids which causes the little group to notice Jack and Emma. They all yell greetings to Jack, some even running up to him to give him a hug, and Emma realizes that this must be all of the kids in the neighborhood who believe in him. Jamie had told Emma that Jack was still fairly new to the children of the world, but this is a nice sized group and the kids seem to really like him.

"Alright, kids," Jack says with a whirl of his staff. "We need to split you guys up into two teams. I'll be the captain of one team and Emma here," he motions with his hand to Emma and she gives a little wave, "will be the captain of the other team. Now, we just need to decide on how to split you."

Emma's eyes scan over the crowd as kids fight over who they want to be with. There are twelve girls and twelve boys. Perfect.

"How about we do boys against girls?" she says. "We can beat these wimps, right ladies?" All of the girls cry out in agreement.

Jack raises a brow. "Oh, it's on, Snowflake."

The boys and girls split off between their captains and go to their separate forts. Emma and Jack then divide up their troops so that four kids are in the fort working the cannons and the rest are on the battlefield.

"We need a team name," Emma says to the girls. "What should it be?"

"Ooo, I know!" a ten-year-old raises her hand excitedly. "It can be Narnia."

Emma grins. "That would make Jack the evil Ice Queen. I like it."

"The rules are simple!" Jack calls out so everyone can hear. "Once you are hit with a snowball, you're out. First team to take the other team's fort wins."

There is a moment of silent anticipation, both teams waiting to see who will attack first.

"For Narnia!" Emma cries and the first snowball flies through the air.

Snowballs and snow cannonballs fly left and right, each team giving as good as they're getting. Jack stays out of the fight for the beginning of the battle, knowing that his powers give him an unfair advantage for the boys, but when the girls start gaining more and more ground he launches himself into the heat of battle.

Emma ducks as a snowball thrown by Jamie whizzes past her head. She then throws her own snowball, hitting him squarely in the chest.

"Sorry, cuz!" she calls as Jamie hangs his head in defeat and goes to sit on the sidelines with the other kids "slain" in battle.

There are eight girls and six boys left by this time. Three of the girls are back at their fort, keeping the snow cannons firing while the others break off into two groups to circle around to the back of the fort so they can get inside and finish off the remaining boys who have retreated behind its walls. The boys throw snowballs frantically, the ones on the parapet abandoning the cannons to try and use their elevation to their advantage, but the boys slowly dwindle in numbers.

Emma raises her arm to throw another snowball when something blue zips out to her side and tackles her to the ground. Jack Frost sits on top of her, straddling her hips, and pinning her arms to the ground at the wrists.

Jack bends down to whisper in Emma's ear, "You thought it would be that easy?"

Emma knows she's a goner and wracks her brain for a way out. If she could just distract him for a little bit longer, then victory would be theirs.

An idea enters her brain, a reckless idea. She's not sure it'll work, but it's worth a try.

When Jack's head pulls away her own head raises to follow, her lips inching closer and closer to his. Emma sees Jack's eyes widen and hears his intake of breath. His face comes back down a little. As his grip on her wrists loosens she gives him a hard shove, flipping them so she is on top. Jack lays beneath her, stunned, giving Emma plenty of time to drop the snowball she still has in her hand onto his face.

"Yes," she says, her own mischievous smile playing across her lips. "I do think it's that easy."

The other girls cheer around them and Emma looks up to see that the rest of the boys have been defeated. She stands, wiping the snow off of her coat and jeans.

"Looks like Narnia wins." Emma reaches out a hand to Jack to help him up. He blinks at her a few times, a blush turning his pale cheeks bright, and then smirks, taking her hand.

"Nice one, Snowflake," he says as she hoists him to his feet. "Very well played."

"Thanks." Her own blush starts to form on her face. Doing something so bold and flirtatious isn't something Emma would normally do. It kind of surprised her herself that she did it.

"So what is Narnia?" he asks, changing the subject for which Emma is grateful, although this subject kind of confuses her.

"How do you not know what Narnia is? Don't you read books? Or watch movies?"

He shakes his head. "I'm usually too busy having some good ole winter fun. And if I were to read books I would have to steal them from someplace."

"There is the library, you know."

"Yeah, but most people would get freaked out if they saw a floating book or pages turning on their own."

"True," Emma rubs her chin in thought. "Then tomorrow, we shall have a movie marathon at Jamie's house. Watching movies is something teens our age like to do nowadays and it can be just as fun as playing with snow. And I get the feeling you have a lot of catching up to do."

"You do know I'm not actually seventeen, right? That's just how old I was when I became Jack Frost."

"Then how old are you?"

"Oh, only a little over three hundred or so. Over the centuries I kind of lost track."

That throws Emma for a loop, but she pushes her shock down. "Small technicality, but whatever. You're basically like Peter Pan. Still a kid, inside and out, no matter how long you've really been around for."

"Who's Peter Pan?"

He has a _lot_ of catching up to do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Emma POV**

Darkness.

Complete darkness.

In every direction there is nothing but darkness. Emma holds a hand inches in front of her face and she can't see a single finger. She takes a few tentative steps forward, reaching out in front of her in the hopes that she will find a wall or a door. Her hand hits something, something rough and cold. It feels like rock. A cave wall?

Emma moves her hands along the wall trying to find her way and she touches something wet and slimy. She yanks her hand back in disgust and wipes it on the pant leg of her pajamas.

"Pajamas?" she says aloud to herself. "I'm in my pajamas. That means I'm in my bed, sleeping. This is just a dream. This is just a dream. It's just a dream."

A small light appears in the distance and an uneasy feeling begins to grow in her gut. "If this is what I think it is, then I would really like to wake up now. The creepy tunnel is new, but I know what's coming and I'd rather skip it."

Emma tries pinching herself but after a few minutes she is still in the cave.

"Okay, walking into the light I go. This is such a bad idea."

Emma walks towards the light. The closer she gets, the better she can see her surroundings. The tunnel is rounded, maybe ten feet in diameter, and every so often there are stalagmites and stalactites. There is also some kind of wet substance oozing from the rock walls. It's dark red, almost black in color.

Emma attempts to swallow but her mouth is dry. "That had better not be blood or I think I might puke."

She's almost to the source of the light. It's a lamp sitting on a nightstand. Next to it is a bed with a figure tucked snuggly beneath the covers. Emma's stomach tightens. It's a woman. A woman Emma knows.

"Mom?" Emma asks quietly. She walks up to the bed. Her mom looks like she did before she got cancer, perfectly healthy and with a full head of long brown hair. Her eyes are closed like she's asleep and Emma nudges her shoulder. She doesn't budge.

"Mom?" Emma says again. Suddenly her mom's eyes fly open wide in shock, pupils dilating so fully that her green irises almost completely disappear. Emma watches in horror as her mom withers away in the bed, her hair falls out, she loses almost all body fat to where she is just skin and bone, her skin becomes clammy and white. In the span of a few seconds her mom deteriorates at the hands of the cancer until she is just as sick as she is in real life. But then she continues to get worse, the days and weeks that are to come. All Emma can do is stand there and watch, helpless, as her mom takes her last breath and then breathes no more.

"Mommy!" Emma sits on the edge of the bed and cries into the chest of her dead mom. "Mommy, please don't leave me!"

Sobs wrack through Emma's body, echoing off the cave walls. Soon they are mixed with the sound of footsteps but Emma does not hear them until it is too late. A hand reaches out behind her, grabbing her shoulder, and flinging her to the ground. Emma catches herself with her hands before her head hits the rock floor, scraping her palms and drawing blood.

Her father stands before her, a powerful fury surging through him the likes which Emma has never seen before.

"What have you done?" he roars. "You killed her! This is ALL YOUR FAULT!" Her father's eyes begin to glow yellow, his hands lengthen into claws, and black scales sprout from his skin. Emma tries to crawl backwards along the ground as her father becomes a massive black dragon. He pounces towards her, landing on his four paws so that he is crouching above her leaving nowhere else to run. His long snout lowers within inches of her face and he opens his mouth to reveal dozens of razor sharp teeth.

A long, high-pitched whistle resounds throughout the cave and the dragon backs off of Emma reluctantly. Emma quickly scrambles to her feet, head whipping around for the one who called off the dragon.

"Hello, my dear," a figure walks out of the shadows to her left, a man with slick black hair, grey skin, a black cloak, and pale yellow eyes disturbingly similar to the dragon's.

"Who…who are you?" Emma asks, voice quivering.

"That doesn't matter right now, child. You will get to know me soon enough." The dark man pets the dragon's long neck lovingly and the dragon almost sounds like it's purring. "Soon you and all of the children of the world will me _mine_. In the meantime, say hello to Jack for me."

He nods to the dragon and the black beast lunges forward, teeth aimed for Emma's throat.

* * *

Emma jolts up in bed with a gasp. Sweat beads down her face, neck, and back, soaking her pajamas. She tries to take a few deep, calming breaths but her speeding heart will not slow down.

That nightmare had seemed so real, more so than any of the others. She could feel the dragon's warm breath against her face, could feel the rock floor scraping her skin….

Emma notices a sharp, throbbing pain in her hands and looks down to see blood.

Her hands are scraped, a long, jagged mark running down each palm.

It's exactly like what happened in her dream.

"No," Emma says aloud. "No, this can't be right. I-I probably just s-scrapped myself in my sleep and then the pain filtered into my subconscious. Yeah. That's it. Cause dreams can't hurt people, no matter how real they seem."

The clock reads 8:03 A.M. so Emma gets out of bed and heads for the hall bathroom to jump in the shower, hoping the hot water will calm her nerves. A half hour later she reluctantly gets out and wipes away the steam from the mirror above the sink to get a good look at her face. Dark circles stand out prominently underneath Emma's eyes. They've gotten worse. She's been able to hide them so far, but make-up can only do so much. She's glad all they are doing today is watching some movies. If she had to wage another snowball war she would probably fall asleep in the middle of the battlefield.

As Emma changes into a baggy t-shirt and some sweat pants fit for a day of relaxation, she wonders when things will get better. She has a feeling things are going to get much, much worse before it does, if it even will. She can feel the seams stitching her life together coming undone with each passing day. She just wishes she had some reprieve at night.

"Why can't I dream of Jack instead of that horrible nightmare?" she whispers absentmindedly.

After a moment her mind catches up with what her lips said and she blushes.

She hadn't meant to say that. She doesn't know _why_ she said it. It's not like she's known him for that long…but….

He makes her happy, she realizes. Like she used to be before her mom got sick. More so even. Because, if she were being truthful, she wasn't really happy back then, either. She's never had any real friends, friends she can talk to without feeling uncomfortable, friends who want to hang out with her.

Having no one to share her life with, someone who loves her for who she is and wants to be with her despite her flaws, it's a sad, lonely existence.

Her mom shows her that love, but she will be gone soon. And besides, that is a parent's love, which is quite different than what Emma searches for.

The time Emma spends with Jack Frost makes her believe maybe she can find that love someday.

It may even be closer than she thinks.

* * *

Emma is just digging out of her suitcase a CD portfolio filled with DVDs when there is a knocking on her window. With a wide grin she rushes over to the window and lets in Jack.

"Good morning, Snowflake," he says.

"Good morning."

"So, what have you got planned for us today?"

"Well, I wasn't sure what kind of movie you would like so I figured you could just look through my collection and pick out something that looks interesting to you." Emma hands Jack the portfolio and he lets out a grunt at the unexpected heaviness.

"Sheesh, how many movies do you have in this thing?"

"Oh, I don't know, close to two hundred I think, maybe more."

His eyebrows rise in surprise.

"What?" Emma can feel a blush growing on her cheeks. "I like movies. They're like books, only more visual and don't take as long to get through."

Jack shakes his head with a smirk.

"You have no right to judge me. You've never seen a single movie."

Jack laughs. "I'm not judging you, Snowflake. I just can't imagine having enough time to watch so many movies, and I'm immortal."

Emma laughs a little at that. "I suppose it is a lot, isn't it?"

Emma and Jack head downstairs into the living room where Jamie and Sophie are waiting for them, sitting on the loveseat perpendicular to the widescreen TV. Emma and Jack take the sofa right across from the TV and everyone waits as Jack leafs through the portfolio looking for something for them to watch.

"What about this one?" Jack asks.

Emma leans over to get a look at the DVD cover. " _Lord of the Rings_. Very nice choice, but I warn you: that's the first one in a trilogy. Each movie is around three hours long and we can't just watch one without watching the others."

"Well, we did say we were going to spend the day watching movies."

"Alright, then." Emma takes _Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring_ and pops it into the DVD player.

When she sits back down on the sofa she notices Jack squirming in his seat trying to find a comfortable position. "What's wrong?"

He gives her a helpless look. "It's just…I'm not used to sitting still for very long."

Emma smirks. "Don't worry, once you get into the movie you won't even notice it."

And Emma is right. About twenty minutes into the film Jack is no longer on the sofa but sitting cross-legged on the floor right in front of the TV, completely captivated. His face is so much like a child's, eyes and mouth wide open in awe. Emma finds it adorable and can't help but smile down at him as they watch the first movie in silence.

When the ending credits start to role Jack blinks a few times and then says, "What happened?"

"That's the end." Emma gets up to eject the movie.

"But what about Frodo and Sam? Do they make it to the volcano to destroy the ring? And what about the others? And Gandalf?"

Emma laughs. "Jack, I told you, this is the first movie of a _trilogy_. There are two other movies that continue their story. You'll find out what happens to them all, I promise. But first, I think us mortals need a snack. You guys want some popcorn?"

Jamie and Sophie nod eagerly and Emma heads into the kitchen. It's around lunchtime by now, but they had all eaten a big breakfast not knowing when they would be able to stop for some food. Emma starts cooking two bags of popcorn in the microwave and grabs two bowls from the cupboard.

Emma hears someone walking up behind her and turns to see Jack stretching his arms above his head. "Man, am I sore."

"That's what happens when you sit for almost three hours on the floor."

Jack fake-scowls at her and Emma laughs. "Well, at least I didn't notice it until the end of the movie."

"Told you so." The buzzer goes off and Emma pours the bags of popcorn into the bowls. "Now, come on. Let's continue our movie marathon."

Once the next movie is set up everyone settles back in on the couches, one bowl for Jamie and Sophie, the other for Emma and Jack. As the opening credits begin Jack leans over Emma to stare into the bowl.

"So what is this food called?"

"Popcorn," Emma says around a mouthful. "First you've never watched a movie before, and now you're telling me you've never had popcorn?"

Jack shrugs. "Pretty much. Is it any good?"

"Here." Emma holds out the bowl to him. "Just try some and see for yourself."

Jack hesitantly takes a single kernel and places it in his mouth. He chews slowly his face first forming an expression of curiosity, then uncertainty, then shock, then delight. He takes another just to be sure, then a handful.

Emma laughs. "Good, huh?"

Jack can only nod because his mouth is full of popcorn.

* * *

**Jack POV**

As they watch _Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers_ Jack is just as absorbed except this time he manages to keep himself on the sofa. These movies are just _so good_. Who would have thought that one could have so much fun just sitting still?

Towards the end of the second movie Jack feels a sudden weight on his left shoulder. He looks down in surprise to see the top of Emma's head. She must have fallen asleep and slipped sideways so that now her head is resting on his shoulder.

Jack's heart starts hammering in his chest. What should he do? Should he wake her? No, she's seemed really tired the past couple of days. She's been trying to hide it, but obviously things have caught up with her. Should he move her? No, he doesn't want to risk waking her. So, what, should he just leave her?

Emma shifts in her sleep, trying to get more comfortable, and ends up inching closer to Jack so that she is snuggling right up against his arm. Jack can feel a blush heating his cheeks.

She's warm, so much warmer than him. He would think his icy skin would deter her but she doesn't seem to mind the cold. And Jack thought that having something so warm pressed against him would feel uncomfortable but…

He rather likes Emma's warmth.

Jack slowly lifts his arm out from under Emma. She groans a little in irritation until he brings his arm back down behind her back to encircle her waist. She sighs in satisfaction and inches even closer so that they are flush against each other, one of Emma's hands coming up to rest on Jack's chest and her head fitting perfectly in the crook where his neck and shoulder meet.

Jack smiles softly at her peaceful form. She's so adorable when she's sleeping.

Someone snickers and Jack looks up to see that the movie ended quite some time ago and Jamie is trying very hard to keep himself from laughing at them. Sophie is lying on the couch next to her brother having also fallen asleep.

Jack raises a finger to his lips and shushes the boy. "Be quiet or I'll turn you into a popsicle. Just put the next movie in already."

Jack did his best to watch the last movie. He paid attention to most of it but it was hard. He found himself enamored with the feeling of this precious girl in his arms, a warm feeling filling his chest.

He's both excited and confused by it at the same time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Emma POV**

Emma stands alone in the small park. It is quiet. Jamie and Sophie went off with some of their friends from the neighborhood to play elsewhere.

The last time she saw Jack was on the day of their movie marathon. She fell asleep sometime during the second _Lord of the Rings_ and didn't wake up until the next morning, lying in her bed and still wearing the clothes from the day before. Emma knows she really needed the sleep but she hates that she lost so much time with Jack. And then when she went down to breakfast Jamie told her that Jack wouldn't be coming around for a day or two because he had fallen behind bringing winter to the other countries in the Northern Hemisphere.

That was three days ago.

Emma's heart constricts in her chest, wondering what she did wrong to scare him off. But it's not like this is any different than before. She's a nerdy bookworm who's not really interested in shopping, fashion, or talking about boys. She'd rather be reading a book or playing video games. The clothes she chooses to wear are things she likes but never seem to be in style. She's socially awkward and can't keep up a conversation with someone she isn't already comfortable with for very long. She's a far cry from popular.

But she thought things with Jack would be different.

Emma's left hand tightens around her bow and she reaches her right hand over her shoulder for one of the two dozen arrows sitting in the quiver strapped across her back. Emma has been doing archery since she was eight. They have an archery club at her school back home and she's one of the best, having won several competitions.

She lines the arrow up with her bow, brings her left arm up straight out in front of her, and then brings the arrow and bowstring back to her cheek.

Everything around Emma fades into the background as she takes aim at the paper target she tacked to the tree several yards in front of her. There is no snow falling delicately on her head. There are no cars zipping by on the road as adults head to work. There is no wind rustling the strands of hair around her face that escaped her ponytail.

There are no thoughts in her head. Nothing about her mom or dad or Jack.

There is just her breathing. Her breathing and her heartbeat.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

The bowstring twangs as she releases it. The arrow flies through the air and pierces the target and trunk with a thunk. Emma smiles. Perfect bull's-eye.

"Remind me to say on your good side," a voice says behind her.

Emma turns quickly and nearly shoots another arrow at the unexpected company. Jack Frost leans against a nearby tree with a smug smile.

"Must you always sneak up on people?" she asks as she lowers her bow.

He shrugs. "It's a hobby of mine."

"So, what have you been up to?"

"You know, spreading winter fun and all that. Didn't Jamie tell you?"

"Yeah," Emma stares down at her feet. "He did. Although you were gone longer than you said you would be."

"You didn't start to think I wasn't coming back, did you?"

Emma bites her lip and doesn't answer.

Jack's brows knit together in worry. "Why would you think that?"

She shrugs one shoulder. "Wouldn't be the first time is all."

"Hey," he pushes off of the tree trunk and walks over to her. He uses a finger to lift her chin so she has to look at him. His touch is cold yet warm at the same time. "I would never do that. So long as you believe in me, you're stuck with me."

A smile pulls at the corners of Emma's mouth. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

He gasps and fakes being hurt, holding a hand dramatically over his heart while saying sarcastically, "I can't believe you just said that. That really hurts. I shall never survive now."

Emma laughs brightly and Jack smiles, but then turns serious again. "I really am sorry. I just had a lot more catching up to do than I thought. And…I was thinking about…a few things."

"What kind of things?"

"You." It's Jack's turn to look at his feet awkwardly. "I was thinking…Well, I've decided that I want to show you something."

"Show me what?"

Jack meets her eyes. "Do you have any ice skates?"

* * *

After a quick jog back to the house to borrow her aunt's skates, Jack holds out his arms to Emma. "Come on. We're going to have to fly there."

Emma stares at him blankly. "Excuse me?"

"Where we're going is kind of far so it would be faster if we fly."

She audibly gulps. "Can't I just walk and meet you there?"

"Don't worry." Jack takes her hand and Emma fights down a blush. "I won't let you fall, Snowflake. Don't you trust me?"

She takes in a shaky breath and then nods. "I trust you."

Emma steps forward and wraps both arms securely around Jack's neck. She feels Jack's arms circle around her waist, his staff still in one hand, the worn wood pressing against her back.

And then they lift into the air.

At first, panic surges through Emma's veins. There is nothing beneath her feet. She cannot control what will happen. If she were to fall there would be nothing she could do to stop herself from going splat on the ground. She is completely vulnerable. Emma closes her eyes and presses her face into Jack's shoulder.

But then Jack's grip tightens around her. Emma can feel his cool touch seeping into her through their layers of clothes. His very presence wraps around her like a warm blanket. The terror dissipates and Emma begins to feel safe in Jack's arms.

Slowly she lifts her head to look at the scenery flying past them. They are _really_ high in the air, way above the trees of a forest. But the blinding fear thankfully does not return.

"So how is it exactly you are able to fly?" she asks.

"It's the wind that's carrying us. Like I said before, my staff is the conduit for my powers. With it I can create snow and ice and I can ride on the wind." Jack stares out ahead of them with a soft smile. "The wind is my oldest friend. It is always there for me, ever since the beginning."

Jack steps down lightly on the ground and releases Emma.

"Thank you, wind," Emma says. A sudden gust whirls around Emma, sending the hood of her blue coat and her hair flying. It feels happy, almost playful, and Emma laughs.

"I think the wind likes you," Jack says.

"All I did was thank it for the lift. Haven't you ever thanked the wind before?"

"No," he says bluntly. The wind blows hard against Jack, almost making him fall over and he flails his arms around like windmills to try and stay on his feet.

Emma laughs harder this time. "You may want to start or else the wind might just drop you next time."

"Alright, alright! Thank you, wind!" The wind suddenly stops pushing Jack, whips one more time around Emma, and then the air becomes still.

Emma begins to look around her now. They are on the shore of a small frozen lake in the middle of the woods.

"So, did we come all the way out here just to ice skate?" she asks.

"No," he says while facing away from her, staring thoughtfully at the lake. "I wanted to show you this place because it is important to me. This is where I became Jack Frost." He turns back to her, his ice-blue eyes full of three hundred years worth of sadness and longing. "This is where I died."

Emma's eyes widen. "What do you mean 'died'? Died as in…."

"Yes, this is where I lost my life. Right there." Jack points out into the middle of the water.

Her chest constricts painfully. "You…you fell through the ice and drowned?"

"Yeah. My sister and I were out on the lake ice skating, but then the ice beneath my sister's feet began to crack…."

"You died saving her," she finishes.

He nods. "That's why the Man in the Moon chose me. It's why any of us spirits are chosen. We risk our lives to protect children."

"The Man in the Moon is real, too?"

"Yep. He created all of us to watch over and protect children. Each of us protects something different in the lives of children. North protects wonder. The Tooth Fairy protects precious memories. Sandman protects dreams. The Easter Bunny protects hope."

"What do you protect?

Jack smirks. "Fun, of course. I help the children remember to have fun during childhood because they may not always be able to when they grow up."

"So you were normal once, like me. Had a normal life and a family. But then you died and became an immortal spirit that protects the fun in childhood."

Jack nods slowly and turns his back on her once again to stare out at the lake, his thoughts wondering to a different time but the same place.

"Did you watch over them until they died?"

"No. When I became a spirit I had no memories of my previous life, which was apparently unusual for us, but I got my memories back only this past Easter."

Emma's heart drops. So by the time he remembered them they were already gone.

A silence spreads between them filled with an echo of tears that have already been shed so many times before. Emma isn't sure what she should do to comfort him. She wants to hug him but is afraid that it might scare him off.

She approaches him and touches his arm lightly. "Were you lonely?"

He sighs. "I was until I became a Guardian."

"What's that?"

"The Guardians are a special group of spirits handpicked by the Moon. It's made up of North, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Easter Bunny, and now me. We protect the children when their safety is threatened."

"What do you mean by 'threatened'?"

"Well, last Easter a spirit named Pitch Black, you know him as the Boogeyman, used Sandy's dream sand to create Nightmares. He wanted to fill the world with darkness and force everyone to believe in him. That's when I became a Guardian. I helped defeat him."

Emma frowns. "Great. The Boogeyman is real too. Now I'm going to be checking my closet and under my bed again."

Jack chuckles. "Don't worry. We took care of him. He's not coming back any time soon."

"Good, cause I would hate to have to sleep with a nightlight again." They both crack up laughing and Emma is happy to have brought his smile back. Jack looks so much better with a smile on his face. And now he has no reason to be sad. He has the Guardians, like he said, but he also has her, as long as he wants her.

"So, you ready for some ice skating, Snowflake?" Jack says when they quiet down.

Emma looks at the ice warily. "Are you sure it's safe?" He did just say that he died by falling through that same ice.

Jack touches the end of his staff to the ice. A new layer of frost stretches across the lake's surface creating a kind of intricate floral design.

"If it wasn't safe before, then it is now. Don't worry, Snowflake, I won't let you fall."

Once Emma gets her ice skates on she hobbles unsteadily to the edge of the lake. "I've never done this before. Not even at a skating rink."

"It's easy. Trust me." Jack holds out a hand and Emma takes it. "All it takes is practice."

"Says the guy who's had three hundred years of practice." Emma places one skate on the ice, then the other. Her feet start to slide apart and she tips dangerously forward. Jack quickly grabs both of her arms near her elbows so that her forearms are on top of his.

"Steady there. Don't let your feet get too far apart, but don't keep them close together either." She brings her feet closer together and the wobbling stops. "That's it, just like that. Now, slide one foot forward."

Slowly Emma shifts one foot forward a few inches and then the other while Jack slides backwards on his bare feet. After a while Emma starts to get the hang of it and they get going at a pretty good pace.

"Okay, now we're going to turn." Jack turns them to the right and Emma almost loses her footing again. When he turns again Emma is ready this time and moves her feet accordingly.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this," she says.

"Then I guess it's time for me to let go." Jack releases his grip on her arms and skates away from her. Emma becomes unsteady on her feet with the loss of support but quickly regains her balance. She continues to skate forward and then moves to the left without too much trouble. After a little bit more practice she's able to skate around right alongside Jack as they move in circles and swirls.

At one point Jack's fingers brush against hers, asking for permission. Emma turns her head and meets Jack's gaze. His fingers brush hers again and she lets them intertwine. They smile at each other. Then Emma almost falls at the loss of concentration and she has to focus on skating again.

After a few more circles they come to rest in the center of the lake.

The beginning of all things.

"Thank you," Emma says, facing him with both of her hands resting in his. "Thank you for sharing all of this with me."

Jack smiles softly. "I'm really glad I got to meet you."

Emma's heart flutters in her chest. "I'm glad I got to meet you, too."

He lets go of one of her hands to skim a finger along her face, starting at her temple and drifting along the side of her face, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. His touch leaves a trail of icy fire on her skin. He then cups her cheek in his hand and leans in, their eyes never parting.

Just as their lips are about to meet Emma's phone goes off. The two jump apart in panic as if someone just caught them in the act. They stare at each other for a second, eyes wide and pulses racing. Then Emma registers that the ringtone is for her aunt's house and her pulse starts to race for another reason.

Is her mom finally gone and she wasn't there?

Emma fumbles for her phone in her jean's pocket and clicks the green answer button on the touch screen.

"Hello?" she asks, barely controlled panic lacing her voice.

"Emma, you gotta come home!" a plainly worried little boy says through the speaker.

"Jamie? What's wrong? What happened?" Emma almost loses her balance, forgetting for a second that she is still on skates standing on a frozen lake, and latches onto Jack's arm for support. He draws her close, his arm going around her waist. His jaw is clenched with tension and worry.

"It's your dad, I think he's gone crazy!"

Emma sighs in relief. So it's not about her mom. She's okay. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"I don't know. He just ran out of his room, yelling and looking for you and he can't find you so he just keeps yelling about something."

Emma curses under her breath and then winces. Hopefully Jamie didn't hear that. "Where are you right now?"

"Me and Sophie are in our room."

"Good. Lock yourselves in and don't come out until _I_ say so, no matter what else you hear or what my dad says. Understand?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Alright, I'll be home as fast as I can. Love you."

"Love you too."

Emma pushes end call and looks at Jack. "I need to get home _right now_."

* * *

Emma and Jack had spent hours at the lake so it is evening by the time they get back to the house. Her aunt is due to be home soon. Emma needs to take care of this mess as fast as possible.

They land in the front yard, the snowman Emma and her cousins made the day she first met Jack still standing sentry with her scarf around its neck. Emma presses her ear against the front door. All seems quiet for now.

"How bad are you thinking this is?" Jack asks.

"I'm really not sure." Emma reaches for her cross, wishing she didn't have to do this, but she can't wait for her aunt to get home to take care of this. She can't risk her aunt finding out.

"Do you want me to go in with you?"

She shakes her head. "It's okay. I can handle it." Emma takes out her keys and goes to unlock the door.

Jack is still standing in the yard not wanting to leave. Emma can tell he is uneasy about all of this but she really can handle it. She has to. And it's not like Jack could do anything anyway. Her dad can't see him.

"It's okay, Jack. I'll be fine."

"I'll come by later and check on you," he promises and with one last long look he takes off into the sky.

Emma turns the doorknob, takes in a deep breath, and enters the house.

Silence greets her. Quickly Emma takes off her coat, places it on the rack by the front door, and then quietly creeps into the living room.

The guest bedroom door slams open, banging loudly into the wall. Emma winces. Hopefully the knob didn't just put a hole in the wall. It would be hard to explain that to her aunt.

In the doorway stands her father, eyes bloodshot, body swaying left and right, and a half-empty beer bottle in his hand. Emma can't tell how many he's had so far but by the fury radiating off of him in waves it's been more than a few.

"You," he rasps, index finger pointing at her. "This is all your fault."

"W-what?" Emma backs up until she runs into the back of the couch. Never before has she seen her father so mad before. What could have brought this on? And _what_ is her fault?

"This is all your fault!" he yells at the top of his lungs and raises a hand in the air. The back of his hand connects with the side of Emma's face with a hard smack, causing her head to snap to the side.

She falls to the floor, disoriented. Her father raises his hand again, ready for another strike, and Emma silently urges her head to clear and her legs to move. At the last second right before he hits her again she manages to roll out of the way, causing her father to lose his already precarious balance and fall to the floor where she once laid.

Emma manages to get her wobbly legs underneath her despite her dizzying head and half runs, half crawls towards the stairs. She hears her father chasing after her, but she makes it to her room and locks the door before he catches up.

Emma tries to take in deep breaths between sobs, the tears falling down her face stinging her swollen cheek. The skin must have broken and the salt is irritating the wound.

 _Never_ has her father gotten abusive with her before. _Never_. She sinks to the floor with her head in her hands as her father begins to pound his fists against her bedroom door, demanding that she come out. She doesn't know what to do anymore.

A cold hand touches Emma's shoulder and she nearly jumps out of her skin. Jack is kneeling in front of her, anger raging in his eyes like a blizzard.

"He hit you?" he asks, his voice hard.

Emma nods numbly, the sobs finally dissipating, and she leaves her tears to dry on her face. She knows she must look like a wreck but she doesn't care.

Her father bangs on the door again and they both stare at the vibrating wood. Emma's eyes widen in horror. Is he going to break down the door?

Before she can voice her fears Jack raises his staff and blue ice crystal shoot out towards the door. Ice forms all along the door and the surrounding wall, completely enclosing it.

"So long as I'm here it won't melt," Jack says. "My ice is stronger than he'll ever be able to break." Jack wipes Emma's tears away with is thumbs, careful of her hurt cheek. "Are you okay?"

Emma shakes her head, unable to put into words just how _not_ okay she is. Jack seems to understand though as he sits cross-legged on the floor in front of her, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. He uses a hand to guide her head to his shoulder and holds it there. His cold hand rests against her hurt cheek but it feels nice, like an icepack.

They sit together like that until the banging finally stops and they hear her father go back downstairs and into the guest bedroom. Both are reluctant to move, but Emma knows she has work to do.

"He's probably passed out by now," Emma finally says, her voice hoarse from crying. "I should go clean up whatever mess he's made before Aunt Marcy gets home."

"Shouldn't you tell your aunt what happened?" Jack asks. "I mean, he hit you. That's child abuse."

She shakes her head. "If my aunt finds out about the alcohol there's no telling what she'll do. She'll probably kick him out, or maybe even all of us, although it's not like my mom can be moved right now anyway. Still, I can't let her kick him out. My mom needs him right now. If he's not there when she…passes…it'll break both of them. And he's my father. No matter what he does to me, I still love him."

Jack looks at her with questioning eyes. She knows the questions he wants to ask, questions about her mom, but he mercifully keeps them to himself.

"Okay," Jack says with a sigh. "But you stay here. I'll go clean up. Just in case he isn't passed out yet. I don't want to risk you getting hurt again."

"Thanks. While you're at it, can you tell the kids for me that the coast is clear now but to stay in their room until their mom gets home anyway?"

Jack nods and uses the wind to lift them both to their feet. He strokes her cheek one last time and then melts the ice from her door so he can slip out.

Emma takes a few deep breaths, trying to fit the broken pieces of herself back together as best she can. She is so exhausted. She feels like she could sleep for a week. Liking the idea, she decides to take advantage of Jack's absence and slip into her pajamas. She then sits on her bed, slipping her legs under the covers.

Jack returns a few minutes later with a first aid kit and a wet cloth.

"We should probably clean that up," he says and sits next to her on the bed. Jack uses the cloth to wash her hurt cheek, the water cool but not as cool as Jack's skin. He then opens the kit and takes out a cotton ball and a small bottle of peroxide. He wets the cotton ball with the peroxide and then dabs at the cut on her cheek. It stings like crazy but Emma bites down on her bottom lip refusing to make a sound. With a finishing touch Jack puts a Dora the Explorer band aid on her cheek, no doubt one of Sophie's, and leans back to examine his work.

"Will I live?" Emma asks, trying to raise the levity of the situation.

Jack strokes his chin in thought. "It was touch-and-go for a second there but I think the odds are good you'll survive."

They smile at each other, but Emma cannot hold it for long. She frowns at the door. "Do you think he'll come back?"

"I don't know," Jack says softly. Then he scoots down on the bed so that he is lying down next to her with his arms above his head and using his hands as a pillow.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Staying the night, of course."

Emma's cheeks warm at the thought of sleeping next to Jack all night. "You can't just stay the night."

"Sure I can," he smirks. "It's not like I can get caught." Then his face turns serious. "I'll make sure you're safe."

Emma wants to argue but….

She really wants him to stay.

With a sigh she gets up, turns off the lights, and then crawls back into bed. The bed is small, not really made for two teenagers, so it's hard to keep distance between them without falling out.

However, Jack has other ideas. "Come here." He reaches out an arm to her and brings her closer until she is snuggled against his side, her head resting on his chest, and his arm wrapped around her waist. His other hand cups her hurt cheek again, rubbing cool, soothing circles into the throbbing flesh.

Emma lets out a contented sigh as she lays an arm across his chest. "Goodnight, Jack."

She feels him press a kiss to the top of her head. "Goodnight, Snowflake."

Her eyes begin to droop and her last thoughts before she drifts off to sleep both excite her and cause her heart to ache.

She is falling in love with Jack Frost.

She is pretty sure he feels the same way about her, but she's scared she's just jumping to conclusions.

Either way, it doesn't matter. They say love conquers all, but can it overcome the barrier of Jack's immortality?


	10. Chapter 10

**Emma POV**

The first thing Emma realizes as her mind slowly regains consciousness is that she is cold. It doesn't bother her, it actually feels really nice. She also didn't have any nightmares last night, miraculously, so she feels more rested than she's been in a long time. But she wonders where the chill is coming from. Did she accidentally leave her window open last night?

Wait…last night.

The events of the previous day come flooding back and Emma's eyes snap open only to have something blue fill her vision.

She is lying on her side, staring into Jack's chest. He is also lying on his side, facing her, with his arm wrapped around her waist to hold her close. That's why she's cold. She wonders if it's also why she didn't have any nightmares.

Jack Frost is in her bed.

There is a _boy_ in her bed.

And he's holding her in his arms, probably has been all night.

A fierce blush spreads across her cheeks. Using the minimalist amount of movement she tilts her head back to glance up at Jack's face. His eyes are closed, mouth slightly open, and his breathing is deep and even. Sound asleep. Emma smiles. He looks rather adorable when he sleeps, especially since his hair is messy and all over the place much worse than usual. She reaches up a hand to brush the white locks away from his face. It's just as soft as she thought it would be.

"See something you like?" he suddenly asks without a trace of grogginess in his voice, causing Emma's heart to thunder in her chest as she yanks her hand away.

"I-I didn't know you were awake," she stammers. Her cheeks must be on fire they're so hot.

He smirks. "I was until a little while ago." The hand that was at the small of her back comes up to play with a strand of her hair, wrapping and unwrapping it around his index finger. "You didn't answer my question."

"Tough," she says defiantly. She's not going to give him the satisfaction. Instead she decides for a change in topic. "Did he come back last night?"

Jack glances at the door over her head as if expecting her father to be standing there. "No, not as far as I can tell. I'm not sure exactly when I fell asleep, but the ice I put back on your door hasn't been disturbed."

"Good," Emma says with a sigh of relief. "Thank you, for staying with me. Even though you didn't need to."

He kisses her forehead. "Any time."

So many emotions flit around in Emma's chest. But before she has time to untangle them Jack suddenly sits up.

"So," he says, "I think I have an idea for what we should do today."

"Oh really." Emma sits up beside him. "And what is that?"

His ice-blue eyes meet her green. "How would you like to meet the other Guardians?"

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Emma asks as she inspects the glass globe in her hand. Jack calls it a snow globe. Apparently it can create portals. They're going to use it to travel to the North Pole and visit Santa's workshop.

Magic. Maybe one of these days it won't surprise Emma so much.

Jack rolls his eyes and takes the globe from her hand. "Yes, I'm sure. It's really not that bad. Might leave you feeling a bit queasy afterwards, nothing serious though." He tosses the globe in front of them. It shatters on the bedroom floor and in an explosion of color and magic a swirling hole appears in the air. Emma is starting to feel queasy already. Jack motions her forward but she doesn't move. "It's either this or we fly the entire way there. Take your pick."

Well, when he puts it that way. "Portal." Emma steps up to the swirling mass and reaches out a hand, but she's still afraid to touch it. Jack decides to help her out by giving her a good shove with his staff. Emma tips forward, loses her balance, and unceremoniously collides with the portal.

Everything begins to shift and turn and twist, her surroundings, the very air, and definitely her stomach. It lasts for only a second and then it's over. Emma tries to land on her feet but her momentum sends her falling to the floor, landing on her butt. When the world stops spinning she gets a good look at where she's landed. It's a room made almost entirely out of ice with wooden beams keeping everything together and a hardwood floor. One wall has cubbies carved into the ice, almost like some sort of bookshelves, but they are empty except for a nest doll with a mischievous looking Jack painted on the outermost shell. In one corner is a queen sized bed and next to it a large window looking out at a beautifully white, frozen mountain landscape. She's made it to the North Pole.

Jack steps out of the portal flawlessly. He makes it look as easy as walking. He half-grins at her still sitting on the floor. "Did you have a bit of a problem with the landing?"

She glares at him but takes his outstretched hand so he can yank her to her feet. "So this is Santa's workshop?"

"Yep." He twirls his staff around and holds out his arms to gesture at the room. "My room to be precise. North made it for me after I became a Guardian so I don't have to sleep in trees like I used to."

Emma stares around the room with a new perspective. She's in Jack's bedroom. In a _guy's_ bedroom, _alone_. She certainly wasn't expecting this.

It looks kind of…empty. If he used to sleep in trees before, then that nest doll and his staff are probably the only things he owns. The thought makes Emma really sad.

"So," Jack looks at her with the same mischievous smile that's on the doll. Whoever painted it is really good. "Are you ready for some sneaking around?"

She arches an eyebrow. "Sneaking around? Why would we need to sneak around? You basically live here."

"Yeah, well, _I'm_ aloud in the workshop, of course. But you? Probably not. The yetis might not care-"

"Yetis?"

"-at least I don't think they will so long as you're with me, but if we get caught by North, then you'll probably get kicked out pretty quick."

"I thought the whole point of me coming here was so that I could meet North, not avoid him."

"Oh, you'll meet him, don't worry. It's just that if you meet him too soon you won't be able to see the workshop. You want to see it, don't you?"

What a stupid question. "Of course."

"Alright then." Jack grabs her hand and pulls her toward the door. Emma's cheeks get a little pink but she manages to tamp it down. "Now, be really quiet and don't fall behind. It's really easy to get lost in this place."

Jack cracks open the door and sticks his head out. The hallway is empty so he creeps out with Emma in tow. It is quiet, but as they go farther they begin to hear the din of hustle and bustle. Emma figures they must be getting close to the workshop and her stomach tightens with excitement.

At the end of the hallway they come out on a circular walkway overlooking a huge room. Several other floors form rings around the room. In every available space there are worktables where these big, furry creatures, yetis Emma guesses, are working on toys, more toys than Emma has ever seen. Several of the finished products, those that can fly at least, are whizzing around in the air. At the very bottom on the ground floor Emma can see a huge globe lit up with twinkling lights like the night sky.

All Emma can do is stare in awe.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Jack whispers in her ear and she nods, still unable to put into words just how amazing it really is.

Jack lifts her into his arms and she lets out a startled squeal. "How about we go down for a closer look?" And with that he takes off into the air flying down to the lower levels.

They hover in the space in the middle of the room, looking in at all of the different levels. Emma's head is whipping all around to try and see as much as possible. Everything around her, the toys, the yetis she didn't even knew existed, the elves that only seem to get into trouble instead of actually making toys, it's all filled with so much wonder.

Emma is so absorbed that she doesn't realize Jack is staring at her in wonder.

"There's one more thing I want you to see," Jack says after a while and he flies to one of the upper levels and down a hallway to what appear to be stables.

There are eight stalls, each occupied by a reindeer. The reindeer are massive, bigger than most horses, with thick brown fur and dangerously-pointed antlers.

Jack sets Emma down on the ground and she inches forward in curiosity.

"Can I pet them?" she asks.

"Some of them only like North, but this one," he steers her toward a reindeer near the end of the aisle, "this one is one of the friendlier ones. He likes me a lot."

Emma glances at the name plaque nailed to the stall door. Somehow she is not surprised.

"Hello, Comet," she says in a gentle voice. "My name is Emma. It's nice to meet you." The reindeer nods his head up and down and then sticks his muzzle out at her. Emma raises a tentative hand, afraid he'll bite despite Jack's reassurances. Comet nuzzles his head against her hand and she giggles.

"You know, he'll probably let you ride him if you give him a treat," Jack says.

Emma's head swivels to look at him and her face lights up. "Really?" she asks excitedly. "What kind of treat?"

Jack pulls out a carrot from the front pocket of his hoodie and hands it to her.

Carrots.

Reindeer like carrots.

"Okay, then." Emma holds out the carrot to the reindeer and he sniffs at it eagerly. "Comet, if I give you this, may we ride you for a bit?"

Comet snorts and nods his head. Emma gives him the carrot to eat while she unlatches the gate. Comet trots out of the stall, powerful muscles rippling with each clomping hoof. He nuzzles Emma's head and then bends to lie down before her.

Jack climbs onto Comet's back. Holding out a hand he says, "Come on, Snowflake. Let's have some fun."

Emma grabs his hand and is hoisted onto the animal's back behind Jack. But what should she do with her hands? Unsure, she just holds onto Jack's sides.

"So, you're scared stiff when you fly with me but you happily get on the back of a flying reindeer?"

She shoves his shoulder lightly. "Oh, come on, Jack, this is a freaking _reindeer_. No one in their right mind would pass this up no matter how scared of heights they are."

"I hope you remember that in a minute." Jack kicks Comet's sides. The reindeer gets on his hooves and gallops full speed down the hallway towards the big circular room. The momentum almost sends Emma tumbling off of Comet's back and she quickly wraps her arms around Jack's waist. Jack smirks. "Hold on!"

The edge of the railing approaches way too fast. Just as they are about to crash into it, Comet jumps into the air. Emma gasps as they begin to fly around from one floor to the next. Chaos ensues as the yetis and elves duck under tables trying to avoid being hit by reindeer hoofs. Jack steers them back towards the center of the room just as they are about to crash into a display of robots one yeti was painting. Comet lands jarringly on the ground floor next to a consol Emma assumes has something to do with the giant globe.

They probably almost broke several toys and heads in the past five minutes.

Emma grins from ear to ear. "That was so much fun!"

Jack laughs as they jump off the reindeer. "I know, right?"

"What is all this noise about?" someone says with a heavy Russian accent. "Christmas is six days away. I have much work to do!"

"Uh oh," Jack says and they both turn around at the sound of heavy boots stomping up behind them. "Hey, North. How's your day been?"

North. Jack said North. Meaning this man is Santa Clause. But this is not quite what Emma expected. The man scowling at them is definitely a very tall man with white hair, a long beard, and looks like he's had one too many cookies, but she did not imagine the Russian-styled clothes and accent. And he looks _very_ intimidating, especially with the naughty and nice tattoos on his arms. She would not want to meet him in a dark alley. What happened to Santa being jolly?

Although, she did just ride around on a reindeer through his workshop.

Probably wouldn't make anyone feel jolly.

Emma stares at her shoes from where she stands behind Jack, chest heavy with guilt.

North snorts. "Jack Frost, why am I not surprised? Taking Comet out for exercise again?"

"You can never have too much exercise," Jack says with a smirk.

North glares at Jack and then he notices Emma. His eyes widen in surprise. "And who might you be?"

Emma steps forward and looks up at him through her eyelashes. "Emma, sir," she holds out a hand for him to shake. "Emma Stone. Nice to finally meet you, although I wish it were under better circumstances."

North laughs heartily. "Do not worry, Emma. Children do not end up on naughty list for listening to Jack's mischievous ideas. I know you would not have done such things otherwise, and besides, no one was hurt." He takes her hand in his much larger one and gives it a good shake. "Anyway, I heard we had new, older believer. It is nice to finally meet you."

"You've heard of me?"

"You see globe?" He motions to the huge sparkling sphere behind him. "Each light is child who believes. We gain and lose believers every day, but gaining one as old as you. Hard not to notice. I just did not know you knew Jack."

"She's Jamie's cousin," Jack answers for her, completely relaxed despite having been caught. "She's staying at his house for a while."

"Ah, no wonder then. Jamie was Jack's first believer. Two became very attached. Is Jamie here somewhere, too? He better not be trying to get a look at his presents!"

"No, it's just Jack and I," Emma says.

North raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Interesting." His gaze shifts back and forth between Jack and Emma as he rubs his belly, deep in thought. Emma wonders if he's trying to decide on a punishment for breaking into the workshop and taking one of his reindeer for a spin after all. North then focuses on Jack. "Jack, come with me. Emma, why don't you wait for us in there?" He points to a door off to the side of the globe. "That is my wife's workroom. I'm sure you would like to meet her."

"Guess I'll see you in a bit, Snowflake," Jack says, giving her a reassuring smile. Emma smiles back and heads over to the door North pointed out.

* * *

**Jack POV**

North leads Jack into his workroom and the fancy bolt locks behind them. The room is more cluttered than when Jack last saw it, blocks of ice and carvings scattered absolutely everywhere as North works as fast as he can during the last few days before Christmas. Jack looks around casually, twirling his staff in one hand, trying to remain calm on the outside. He knows what this is probably going to be about and it makes his stomach twist into knots.

North sits in the chair behind his desk. "So, Jack, let's get straight down to business. Why did you bring Emma here?"

Jack rolls his eyes. "Because this is the North Pole. What believer _wouldn't_ like a chance to see the North Pole?"

"Jack, you and I both know there is more to it than that. Jamie is your first believer; I was right earlier when I said you two are very close. But you have not even brought Jamie to this place. What makes Emma so special?"

"I don't know," Jack says nonchalantly. "I just thought she would like to see it."

North sighs. "Okay, fine. How about you explain to me how she came to believe in you."

"I told you, she's Jamie's cousin. He got her to believe."

"You are not telling me everything," North squints at him. "I can see it in your eyes. Teenagers do not just believe in us again on their own. And they certainly do not listen to their little cousins who tell them Jack Frost is real. You had something to do with it, didn't you?"

"Fine, I may have…thrown some snowballs at her…that appeared to her to be out of nowhere."

"Aha! So you forced her to believe again!"

"Why does it matter?" Jack jumps up on a block of ice and sits on it crossed-legged. "Is it bad that she's still a believer at such an old age?"

"No, no, no," North waves his hand dismissively. "Of course not. What concerns me is the fact that you wanted her to believe in you so much that you made sure she would, even though she is past the age of believing. Why?"

Jack averts his eyes. "Well…she looked lonely. She has a crappy home life. Her mom's sick, that's why they're staying at Jamie's. They…don't think her mom has much longer. And I found out yesterday that her dad's an alcoholic bordering on abusive. That first day I saw her…she looked like she needed a friend."

"And you wanted to be that friend?"

Jack nods.

North is quiet for a long time. "You also have feelings for her, no?"

Jack's not sure what to say at first. He's thought about it a lot himself the past couple of days. Sure, Emma is the first believer his age he's ever met, but that doesn't mean he has feelings for her. He just wanted to be her friend because she really needs it right now. She's about to lose her mom and is probably going to lose her dad, too, in the long run. Jack just wants to be there for her.

But he has to admit, the past week he's spent with her has been really great. All of his favorite winter fun he puts on for the kids…they have a fresh new air to them when he does them with Emma. They're more exciting, more enjoyable. More… _fun_.

And he thinks it's amazing that she can draw and do archery. He's never met anyone who can handle a bow and arrow before and it's really incredible. And he likes trying to sneak up on her whenever he can. And he likes the color her cheeks turn whenever he does something to make her blush. He likes the feel of her in his arms whenever they fly together. He likes to see that fire in her eyes when she's determined or when she's being stronger than she should have to be.

He likes just _being_ with her.

Being with Emma has made him really happy. Happier than he's ever been, even since gaining a family among the Guardians.

Emma makes him happy.

 _Does_ he have feelings for her?

Jack shakes his head to try and make all of the confusing thoughts go away. "I-I don't know."

North sighs. "I figured as much. The heart is very complicated thing, Jack. But do keep in mind, whatever may happen, Emma is mortal and you are immortal."

"I know," Jack says mournfully. "I know."

North gets up from his desk to stand in front of Jack, placing one of his large hands on Jack's shoulder. "Do not fret, Jack. Also keep in mind that everything happens for reason. I believe you and Emma were meant to meet for very important reason. I feel it in my belly."

Jack looks up at him helplessly. "Then what do I do?"

"Follow your heart, Jack," North says with a smile. "So long as you do that, everything will work out in the end." He places a few more snow globes in Jack's hands. "For when you visit the others."

Jack puts in his hoodie pocket and smiles up at North. "Thanks, North."

* * *

**Emma POV**

When Emma opens the workroom door she is surprised by what she sees. It is a large room filled with piles upon piles of life-sized drawings done on large sheets of paper. Several easels are standing all about the room holding half finished drawings as well. All of the drawings are of clothing and toys for girls.

"Wow," Emma whispers.

"Why, hello there." An elderly woman turns around from her work at one of the easels. She has long, pure white hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, a slender figure, fragile-like although strangely sturdy-looking, and a kind face. "The yetis told me we had some guests. You must be the girl Jack brought with him."

"Yes, my name is Emma, ma'am." She holds out her hand for the woman to shake. "My name is Emma Stone."

"Hello, Emma." She takes Emma's hand. "You know me as Mrs. Clause, but I am known among us spirits as Mrs. N. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"What is all of this?" Emma motions to the drawings.

Mrs. N laughs. "Not many children know this, but I'm actually the one who designs all of the girl presents. Men just don't have any clue what to give a woman as a gift, no matter what the occasion. My husband is no different. North's medium is ice sculpting, mine is drawing." Mrs. N places her hand on one of the finished drawings of a beautiful dress. As she pulls her hand away the dress comes with it, fabric coming right off the paper in full color.

"That's amazing." Emma touches a finger to the dress. It's silk.

"Why thank you." Mrs. N sits down on a stool and motions for Emma to sit in another next to it. "You should have seen the state of the girl's toys before I came along. It was horrible!"

Emma gives her a curious look. "You mean you and North weren't always together?"

"No," Mrs. N says softly, her eyes looking distant. "No, I was not always with North. I became a spirit…at another time, but I am also from Russia."

"How did you two first meet?"

"That's a story for another time, I think. For now, how about you tell me how you came to meet Jack."

Emma grimaces. "He hit me upside the head with a snowball."

Mrs. N laughs, the sound like wind chimes. "I bet that was quite an experience, believing in all of this again."

"Yeah, it was, but I don't think I ever quite stopped believing in the first place, so that made it easier."

"Oh really. And then what happened?"

Emma relates to Mrs. N all of her and Jack's little adventures, although she leaves out a few _embarrassing_ parts. Like when they almost kissed.

When she is done Mrs. N gives her a soft look. "It sounds like you two have gotten close. Tell me, Emma, do you have feelings for Jack?"

Emma's eyes go wide. Mrs. N really doesn't beat around the bush.

"No," Emma says automatically, but her answer is too quick to be believable and Mrs. N gives her a pointed look. "Maybe?" She sighs and drops her head in her hands. "It's complicated."

"I know, dear. Falling in love is not an easy journey. The journey is even more difficult when falling in love with an immortal."

Emma peaks between her fingers. "You said it's not 'easy,' meaning it's not altogether impossible either? For a mortal and immortal to be together?"

Mrs. N smiles. "No, it is not impossible. Although, most of the time, it will end in heartache for both people involved. They may stay together, happily in love, but a time comes when the mortal has to die, leaving the immortal alone with no way to follow their beloved."

"Then what do I do?" Emma asks desperately. "Do I avoid Jack and never see him again? Should I end this now before it's too late?"

"Oh, dear." Mrs. N cups Emma's cheek. "I think we both know it is already too late for that. You cannot stop the seed of love from growing once it is already planted."

Emma can feel tears prickling the back of her eyes but she pushes them down. "Then is there really no hope for us?"

"There is _always_ hope, Emma. Don't ever forget that. And I believe you have much to be hopeful for. I did say things end in heartache only 'most of the time.' I think you and Jack may be one of the exceptions. I can feel it."

Before Emma can ask what happens with the exceptions there is a knocking on the door. Jack pops his head in.

"It's getting late," he says. "We should probably get you home."

Emma rises from her seat and follows him out the door. The rest of the day and all through the night she plays Mrs. N's words in her head over and over again.

There is reason to hope. Emma doesn't know what the exception is, but she is determined to find out. But either way, things are not going to be easy.

She can feel it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Emma POV**

Emma hopes that her dreamless night with Jack meant an end to her nightmares.

She is wrong.

The nightmares come back that night stronger than ever. The dark man is furious that he could not visit Emma the night before. He says he could not risk bringing her nightmares because Jack had been there. Emma doesn't understand what he means but she figures at the very least she had been partially right. Jack's presence had kept her nightmares at bay for whatever reason.

The dark man says he has to punish Emma.

The visions of her mom are heart-wrenching.

The altercations with her father-turned-dragon, terrifying.

She tries again and again but Emma cannot force herself awake.

She is starting to doubt she will ever wake up when Emma hears a loud banging. She wonders if it is a new part of her dream, but the dark man and the dragon looming above her both look just as confused. The banging echoes throughout the cave again. It's three bangs, almost like someone is knocking. Emma realizes that it must be Jack, knocking on her window.

"Jack!" Emma screams. "Jack, wake me up!"

The dark man just laughs. They both know Jack can't hear her.

Emma closes her eyes and concentrates on the sound of the banging. She pictures Jack's fist hitting the glass, the look of annoyance on his face when she still does not unlock the window, how he would try to get a peek through the curtains.

She imagines the feel of Jack's arms wrapped around her, how he makes her feel safe and warm, not warm on the outside, because his skin is icy cold, but warm on the inside.

She hears his muffled voice, "Hey, Snowflake, you awake in there?"

Emma can still hear the dark man's cry of rage as her eyes fly open and she is lying awake in bed once again.

"Oh, thank you, God," she whispers. She looks at the clock. It's past nine in the morning. Emma got more sleep than usual but she wishes she could have a few more dream-free hours.

Jack knocks again. "If you don't open this window soon I'm gonna let myself in!"

Emma untangles the blankets from around her legs and gets up to let Jack in. As soon as she pulls the curtains aside and sees his face all of the fear and anxiety left over from the nightmare melts away.

"Took you long enough, Snowflake," he says as he floats in.

"Well, excuse me if some of us actually have to sleep on a daily basis." Emma is tempted to stick her tongue out at him but suppresses the childish urge. "Now go say hi to my cousins or something while I get ready."

Emma shows Jack to the door but he stops her with a hand on her arm. "Wait." He pulls at the collar of her t-shirt to reveal her shoulder. "What's this?"

Emma strains her neck to angle her head to see what he is talking about. From the base of her neck running down to the tip of her shoulder are five cuts, almost like claw marks. Her heart skips a beat and then bolts into her throat. Emma couldn't have done it herself; the scratches are at too odd of an angle for her hand to have made.

But the _dragon_ did scratch her last night in her dream in exactly the same place.

The dreams can't be real….

"Emma?" Jack waves a hand in front of her face. "You okay?"

She shakes out of it. "Yeah," she lies, trying to keep her voice steady. "I'm fine. I must have just cut myself in my sleep is all. No big deal."

"Are you sure? If…If it was your dad…if he did something to you again…you know you can tell me, right?"

His concern brings a small smile to her face. "Yeah, I know. And I would tell you. But he didn't do this. Promise." Emma opens the door and gives him a light shove. "Now get out so I can get changed in peace."

Peace. Nothing lately has been even remotely peaceful.

* * *

Jack says they'll have to fly through the portal in order to get to the Tooth Palace. Something about wanting her to see it from the outside first before they go in to see the Tooth Fairy. Emma isn't sure why they have to fly though. It's a palace. A building. Meaning it's on the ground.

Right?

Jack secures his arms around Emma's waste and she puts her arms around his neck.

"Ready, Snowflake?" he asks.

"Not really," she says as she looks at the swirling mass of magic in front of them. "But I'm going to do it anyway. Let's get this over with."

Emma feels her feet leave the floor as the wind propels them forward and her muscles clench in anticipation. Or maybe dread. Flying and portals. Not a lovely combination, although both will probably get more bearable for her over time. Hopefully.

As the portal approaches Emma hides her face in Jack's shoulder. She feels it when they go through the portal, the drop and twist her stomach does makes her woozy for a second, but then they are through and warm, humid air whips through her hair.

Emma lifts her face and gasps in awe. There really is a reason why they had to fly in order to see the Tooth Palace from the outside. The palace isn't really a palace, at least, not in the traditional sense. It's a freakin' _mountain_. They're flying among a small mountain range, green vegetation tingeing the rocky landscape. Emma can see small specks flying through the air around them zipping towards the tallest mountain. One of them flies past them and Emma sees that they are little humming-bird like creatures carrying teeth.

"Mini fairies," Jack answers her unspoken question. "They're the ones who collect all of the teeth. The Tooth Fairy commands them all from her palace, sending them where they need to go."

The mountain swallows them as they enter the palace and the term "palace" finally makes a little sense. The mountain is hollow and beautifully crafted towers hang from the ceiling like stalactites. Jack and Emma land on a platform on one of the towers and they watch the activity around them. The fairies are placing teeth in slots that pop out of the towers. On the front of each slot is a child's face.

"So this is what happens to all of the teeth," Emma says. "Why does the Tooth Fairy keep them?"

"For the memories," a female voice says behind them. Emma turns to see a larger version of the mini fairies, minus the beak, a woman beautifully covered in feathers, her fairy wings beating at her back so fast that they are just a blur, and violet eyes that are stunningly bright. She smiles, showing her perfect white teeth. "Hello, I'm the Tooth Fairy, or Tooth for short."

Emma holds out her hand. "Hi, my name is Em-"

Tooth bypasses Emma's hand in favor for a hug, lifting her off the ground a little and twirling her around. "Yes, yes, yes, I know who you are," her words tumble out so fast Emma can barely understand. "You're Emma! North told me you would be coming. I've been waiting for you two to show up for what feels like forever. I've heard so much about you. You're our oldest believer in a long time, but when I heard that you became a believer because of Jack, why, I was so surprised! But then North said that you are Jamie's cousin and then it made perfect sense. He also said you have shiny white teeth!" Tooth flies just inches in front of Emma and parts Emma's lips with her fingers to get a look at Emma's teeth and gums. Emma can only stand there in shock, uncomfortable with the treatment of her mouth but not wanting to upset the Tooth Fairy. "And they are! Oh, you floss so well!"

"Tooth!" Jack steps forward and yanks Tooth's hands out of Emma's mouth. "I don't think she appreciates being manhandled like that."

Tooth looks at Emma apologetically. "Sorry! I just get so carried away sometimes."

"It's okay." Emma massages her jaw a little. "So, you were saying about the teeth?"

"Oh, right! I said we keep the teeth because of the memories. Each tooth contains precious memories of childhood. When children really need it, we help them remember."

"Do you have _my_ memories here, too?"

"Yes, of course! Would you like to see them? I had them pulled in case you did." One of the mini fairies fly up to them carrying a rectangular golden box with colorful geometric shapes on the top. On the side is a picture with the likeness of Emma when she was a child. The box is easily two or three times the small fairy's size and she struggles to carry the heavy object.

"Whoa there," Jack rushes forward to take the box as it slips through her tiny hands. "I've got it. Thanks, Baby Tooth."

The fairy says something in a language Emma doesn't understand in a squeaky voice and then flies off to her duties again.

Jack holds out the box to Emma. "Just touch the blue diamond on top."

Emma reaches out her hand but then pulls back, hesitating. "What _kind_ of memories will this show me exactly?"

"Is there something you don't want to see?" Tooth asks.

"It's just," Emma unconsciously touches a finger tip to the cheek her father had hit a few days ago. It is mostly healed by now, the bruise and cut quickly fading. But the memory is still very fresh, and all of the memories that go along with it. "There are some things I would not like to live through again."

Tooth frowns. "I can't make any promises on what you will or won't see, but I can promise you this: the magic will show you what you _need_ to see. What that is exactly depends on you."

Emma nods, takes a deep breath, and touches her index finger to the diamond on the box Jack still holds.

* * *

_The world dissolves around Emma. There is just her and her memories. So many images flash in her mind, things she's seen and done before when she was a little girl. They all feel so real, like she's experiencing them in explicit detail, literally living through them all over again. She can smell the flowers her and her mom planted in the front yard one spring. She can feel the scrape on her knee she got when her mom was first teaching her how to ride a bike. She can hear the soulful melody of the piano as her mom's fingers dance across the keys._

_Emma sees her mom's glowing, healthy face over and over again. She sees her mom admiring her crayon drawings. She sees her mom coming to pick her up from school and she hears her mom's strong, gentle voice asking her how her day was._

_Her mom was always there for her._

_And she realizes her dad was strangely absent, more absent than Emma ever realized before. Yes, he's there in some of the memories Emma sees, but always in the background. Never really with them, smiling and happy._

_A strong memory takes Emma, pulling her in and enveloping her._

_It's Emma's tenth birthday and she's at home sitting at the dining table with a small pile of presents in front her. Emma has never had any actual birthday parties, what with never having very many really close friends before, so it was just her and her mom. Her dad was at work and didn't get back until late that night._

" _Open it," her mom says in the chair beside her, sliding a box wrapped in blue wrapping paper and a white bow closer to her._

_Emma carefully tears the paper away and opens the box. Inside is her mom's book on fairy tales and myths._

" _You're giving this to me?" Emma asks._

" _Yes. I've had this book for a long time. My own mother gave it to me when I was a little girl. You and I have read these stories many times together over the years, but now it is time for you to have this book for yourself."_

" _But aren't I getting too old for these things?"_

" _That's exactly why you need this now. To help you remember to never stop believing in the magical and impossible. To help you remember to always celebrate life, die righteously-"_

" _Prevail over sorrow, and give thanks," Emma finishes. She gives her mom a hug. "Thanks mom. I love it. And I'll never stop believing."_

_Her mom kisses the top of her head. "I love you, sweetie."_

* * *

Emma comes back to the present but her vision is blurred. It takes her a second to realize it is because her eyes are filled with tears. She pulls her hand back away from the box and wipes the tears away before they have a chance to fall.

"What did you see?" Tooth asks softly.

"My mom," Emma says with a wet smile. "I saw my mom, from before she got sick."

"She's sick? What does she have?"

"Cancer," she says with a small voice.

"Oh," Tooth says, "I'm so sorry,"

Jack stays quiet, his face grim. Emma wonders if he had already guessed what was wrong with her mom. She never told him what was actually wrong, but he would have seen her mom the day her dad hit her and Jack went to clean up her dad's mess for her. He had been kind enough not to say anything, but her mom's condition is not a pretty sight.

"Well," Jack says after a moment, "she seems really great. From what I saw, I could tell she loves you a lot."

Emma looks at him in surprise. "You saw my memories?"

He gives her an apologetic look. "Yeah, sorry. I mean, I didn't mean to or anything. I guess it's just because I was holding the box, too, that I was able to see your memories. Sorry."

Tooth's feathers ruffle in agitation. She takes the box from Jack's hands, studies it carefully, and then narrows her eyes at Jack. "You saw her memories, too?" she asks disbelievingly.

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"But that's…impossible. It shouldn't have mattered if you were touching the box or not. Only Emma should have seen the memories."

"Then how-"

A group of mini fairies fly up to Tooth and start talking to her in their squeaky language all at once.

Tooth sighs. "I said _Sacramento_ , not Sarasota." She looks at Jack and Emma. "Sorry, but I have to get back to work. It was nice meeting you, Emma." And then she flies off, Emma's tooth box held tightly in her hands and her violet eyes looking distant and filled with worry.


	12. Chapter 12

**Emma POV**

Another day, another Guardian to visit. This time it is the Easter Bunny. Emma has been going over everything she knows about the Easter Bunny in her head all morning, wondering what he looks like. The closest thing she can think of is a little, cute, fuzzy bunny holding a basket filled with eggs. Considering how the other Guardians have surprised her so far, however, she is probably at least a little off.

This time when Emma and Jack go through the portal it does not leave her as queasy as before, for which Emma is grateful. She also manages to stay on her feet upon landing on the other side.

And what is on the other side blows her mind. They are in some kind of underground oasis. It's not a sky above them, but the ceiling of a cave, with sunlight filtering down between the cracks. The sunbeams give the cave plenty of light to feed all of the plant life growing in the cave. There is green grass, trees, bushes, and moss-covered rocks everywhere, and color is dappled in between by flowers and rivers, whose waters are not just crystal blue. There are rivers of several different colors crisscrossing all around. This place is like something straight out of Jules Verne's _Journey to the Center of the Earth_.

"Every time I think I've seen the most amazing thing in your world," Emma says, "you surprise me with something new."

Jack smirks. "I try."

A huge hole appears a few feet in front of them, causing Emma to take a few steps back in alarm, and a huge rabbit hops out. Emma's eyes widen. He's at least six feet tall, probably more, with grayish-blue fur and what appear to be boomerangs strapped across his torso.

"Hey, now, I heard that," the rabbit says with an Australian accent. "You can't take credit for _my_ Warren, Frost."

"Holy crap," is all Emma can say.

The rabbit's big green eyes turn to Emma and he smirks. "Not what you were expecting, Shelia?"

She shakes her head no.

Jack steps forward and motions to the rabbit. "Snowflake, I would like you to meet the Easter Kangaroo."

"Easter _Bunny_ ," the rabbit says with a glare at Jack. "I'm a _bunny_. I thought I told yah tah stop with the kangaroo?"

"Yes, you did. But I never said I would listen."

The Easter Bunny sighs and rubs the space between his eyes. "Not here three minutes and I already wanna throw yah in a river."

Emma tries to hold in a giggle but fails miserably. The Easter Bunny can't help but smile at her.

"Don't call me a kangaroo like this frosted flake here," he says. "Just call me Bunny."

Emma holds out her hand. "I'm Emma. Emma Stone." Bunny swallows her hand with his paw, the pads coarse against her skin, but the fur is softer than anything she's ever felt.

"So, North says you're Sophie's cousin. How is the little ankle-biter?"

"She's doing good. She misses you. I see her drawing you a lot, or at least, I think I do. It's hard to interpret the drawings of a four-year-old sometimes."

Bunny laughs. "I'll have tah stop by sometime. With Easter a long ways off I have lots a free time."

"You could always go to the Pole and help the yetis make presents," Jack suggests. "North does consider Christmas the more important holiday and would really appreciate your help."

"Ha, not on your nelly. _Easter_ is the better holiday."

Emma can see an argument coming, although on Jack's part it's only to annoy Bunny, so she decides to intervene. "Hey Bunny, I was wondering: where do you get all the eggs?"

Bunny pauses for a second, the sudden question derailing his argumentative train of though. He looks about ready to ignore her question and have it out with Jack, but then holds out a hand to her. "Follow me and I'll show yah."

Bunny shows Emma all around the Warren. Almost all of the plant life have something to do with making Easter eggs. The eggs themselves come, not from chickens like Emma was expecting, but from blooming flowers. And they have cute little legs that let them walk around everywhere to get decorated! Then there are other flowers that dye the eggs and vines that create beautiful designs when the eggs fall through their corkscrews. Even the rivers are made of colored water that dye the eggs.

Bunny is showing her one of the rivers when Emma gets a devilish idea. She's surprised something so mean would enter her mind, but come on. Jack Frost, the King of Mischief, getting a taste of his own medicine would be just too funny. And it's his own fault for standing so close to the edge anyway.

So, when Jack isn't looking, Emma shoves him as hard as she can into the pink river. Jack is even too shocked to think to use the wind to keep himself from falling in. He hits the water with a loud splash, sending water flying towards shore but Emma and Bunny aren't close enough for it to hit them.

Jack bobs to the surface and glares at them. "Okay, who did that?"

Emma and Bunny crack up laughing. Jack is completely soaked and his white hair, pale skin, and blue hoodie are dyed a lovely shade of pink.

"I wish I had thought of it, mate," Bunny says between giggles, "but I'm afraid the credit goes to Emma."

"Guilty as charged," she says with a bow.

"I have to admit, Frost, she's quite the Shelia, your girlfriend here."

Emma immediately sobers up and turns a bright shade of pink herself, and Jack's cheeks look redder than the rest of his pink skin.

"I'm not his girlfriend," Emma says at exactly the same time Jack says, "She's not my girlfriend." Both avoid eye contact with the other.

Bunny shrugs his shoulders. "Uh huh, just keep telling yourselves that." He nudges Emma's shoulder. "That was quite the prank you pulled, Shelia."

Emma grins again as her cheeks start to cool. "It was pretty funny, wasn't it?"

"Oh, I'll show you 'funny.'" Jack reaches up with his staff, which he had managed to keep a hold of, and uses the hook to grab Emma around the waist and haul her into the river as well.

Emma admits to herself as she falls into the water that she probably deserves it.

Only, the water is much deeper than she realized. Her feet can't find the bottom.

And the current is pulling her away from Jack and Bunny and the shore.

And she can't swim.

Emma's arms and legs start to flail in panic. She's able to get her head above the water for a split second in order to let out a choked "Help!" and take in another breath of air, but then she's pulled under again.

The water is cold as it grips at her body and clothes. The current is picking up speed, sending head over foot, over and over again, away from the others. She fights to reach the surface again, but she can't. Her limbs are tiring. Her lungs are burning, screaming for air that she cannot provide. Over the rushing of the water in her ears she can hear muffled shouts, Jack and Bunny calling her name. She tries to find them, to reach out to them, but she can't see anything through the pink water.

Emma's mind begins to blacken.

The water's temperature begins to exponentially get colder and Emma hears a crackling sound, like freezing ice. She hits something hard and cold, then feels something wrap around her waist.

Jack uses his cane to hoist Emma out of the water and onto shore. Once lying on the grass, Emma immediately rolls onto her side and starts hacking and gasping violently, her body trying to purge the water from her lungs. Emma wonders for a moment if the insides of her lungs are now permanently dyed pink.

Once she is done she tries to sit up but her vision starts to swim again like she's back underwater. Jack catches her before she falls back down again and pulls her close against his chest.

"What were you thinking, you gumby?" Bunny says. "Pulling Emma into the water like that when she doesn't know how to swim. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I didn't know!" Jack says defensively. He looks down at Emma and wipes some of her wet hair away from her face. She won't meet his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It just never really came up before," she says through chattering teeth. "And I didn't expect you to suddenly pull me into a deep river."

"I'm sorry, Emma," Jack says softly. The use of her name makes her smile. He usually just uses the nickname he gave her, Snowflake. To use her real name means he must be really sorry.

"It's okay, Jack, it's not your fault. Like you said, you didn't know. If anything, it's my fault for not knowing how to swim."

"It is _definitely_ not your fault. Not knowing how to swim isn't that big a deal." He stares at her until she looks at him. "Seriously."

She nods. "Thanks, Jack."

He pulls her closer, his face still looking sullen with shame.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"The hug is great and all, but I'm dripping wet, already freezing and shivering, and, well, you're really cold and not helping at all."

Jack blinks a few times. "Oh, right." He lets her go and helps her stand up on shaky legs.

"You two look like a couple of Easter eggs," Bunny says with a half-smile.

Jack and Emma look down at themselves. Both of them are dyed bright pink.

"I don't suppose there's anyplace we could get washed up?" Emma asks.

"Do you see that outcropping of rocks?" Emma looks to where Bunny is pointing and nods. "There's an entrance to a small cave among 'em. In it is an underground spring that can wash away any dye, even from your clothes. The cave is really small with only one path and dead-ends at the spring, so you won't get lost. It's lighted, too. Frost, if you follow the river in the other direction there is another group of rocks with a cave just like it."

Emma and Jack go to their separate caves. The cave entrance is rather narrow, the path going steadily downhill, and is quite dark, reminding Emma of her nightmares. She shivers, and this time not just from being wet and cold. But then she sees a light a little ways in. It's a little yellow light on the cave wall. And then she sees another. And another. And another. Emma takes a closer look. They're glow worms. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of glow worms cover the cave walls, filling more and more space the deeper into the cave Emma goes.

Not after too long Emma reaches the spring at the back of the cave. The walls and ceiling spread outward and with the glow worms it looks like stars in the night sky, giving Emma plenty of light. She strips down and sticks her bare toes in the water. It's warm, thankfully, bringing a smile to her face. She sinks blissfully in with a sigh, her feet finding the bottom not that deep, allowing her to be able to stand with the water only coming up to her shoulders. Emma scrubs at her skin with her hands to get rid of the dye and dips her head underwater to rinse out her hair. She then brings her clothes into the water and starts washing them.

Her mind drifts as she's washing up. She tries not to think of Jack, but there seems to be no stopping his face from appearing in her mind. She thinks of what Bunny said, how he had called her Jack's girlfriend, and how embarrassed Jack had been. Had he been embarrassed at the thought of Emma being his girlfriend? Or was he embarrassed because he really does have those kind of feelings for her? Or was he simply embarrassed at being asked such a question?

How would Emma herself answer?

Emma sighs as she rings the water out of her clothes. They're still damp but that's as good as they're going to get. She and Jack are probably going to head home soon anyway so she won't be cold for long.

When Emma makes her way out of the cave she finds Jack sitting on a rock at the entrance. He stands when he sees her and starts fiddling with his staff nervously.

"What's up?" Emma asks cautiously.

"I, um, wanted to give you something," he says while looking at her forehead instead of her eyes.

"Give me what?"

Jack steps forward and pulls at the chain around her neck to pull the cross out from underneath her shirt. He holds the golden charm in his hand delicately.

"I always see you wearing this. It's your mother's, right? I saw her wearing it in your memories yesterday."

"She gave it to me so I'll always know she loves me and is watching over me. Even…after…." Emma can't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Jack nods and wraps his hands around a length of empty chain next to the cross. His eyes close in concentration and after a moment his hands begin to glow. When he pulls his hands away Emma looks down at her necklace. There is now a snowflake charm made out of ice hanging next to her mother's cross.

"It's beautiful," she whispers and touches a finger to it. She expects it to be cold but it is surprisingly warm.

"It's the magic inside," he explains. "I gave it some of my magic so it won't ever melt…and now you'll always have a little piece of me, too." He takes a step back and looks away from her, his cheeks slightly blushed. "I planned on giving it to you for Christmas, but I figured after what happened today I would give it to you early. As an apology."

"You didn't have to do that, Jack." She lifts herself up on her toes and places a kiss on Jack's cheek. "But thank you."

Jack finally looks at her, eyes slightly rounded in surprise. He reaches up with a hand to the place where Emma's lips just were. Emma is afraid she went too far with the kiss, but then he grins at her.

She grins back.


	13. Chapter 13

**Emma POV**

Something feels wrong.

 _Very_ wrong.

Emma is in the blood-soaked cave of her nightmares with the horrible visions and the dragon and the dark man. Only the dark man seems very happy. He hasn't stopped smiling with his wickedly-sharp teeth all night.

The dragon has her pinned to the ground again, his four paws digging into her ankles and wrists to assure she does not escape. Its snout is only inches from her face and Emma is afraid for a moment that it means to bite her.

The dark man kneels beside her and strokes her hair. Emma can feel bile forming in the back of her throat. She wishes she could spit it at him but she can't turn her head far enough to be able to hit him.

"Hello, dear Emma," the dark man coos. "I have some wonderful news. I have just about perfected my Nightmares, thanks to our time together, and now you won't ever have to leave. Just endless fear and me, Pitch Black."

* * *

**Jack POV**

It's about three in the morning in the town of Burgess, but where Jack is, in the state of Oregon, it's only eleven. The world is right on track of where they need to be in the course of the winter. He has a couple of good snow days going, and one blizzard overseas. With not much else to do at the moment, Jack is hanging out with the Sandman as he travels across the globe bringing young believers peaceful dreams.

The small golden man is standing on his dream sand cloud sending out streams of sand to the town they are currently above. Jack is lazily floating on his back beside him, occasionally reaching out a hand to a stream of sand to see what dreams lay inside.

"Hey, Sandy," Jack says after a while. "You've been making sure to send my new believer Emma good dreams like I asked, right?"

Sandy nods and then a question appears above his head.

"I know, Sandy, I don't doubt that no believer gets left out, it's just that she hasn't been sleeping well. The dark circles under her eyes are getting worse and she seems so tired, although she's trying her best to hide it. Do you think she's not getting the dreams properly because she's so old?"

Sandy shakes his head and then an image of a peacefully sleeping Emma appears above his head.

"You see her sleeping with your dreams above her head every night?"

Sandy nods.

"Then what could be wrong?"

Before Sandy can answer a sharp pain shoots through Jack's chest, making him double over. Jack gropes at his chest expecting to find some kind of wound but he's still in one piece.

Sandy hovers in front of him and grips his shoulder, the images above the Sandman's head rapidly blinking back and forth between a question mark and an exclamation point.

Jack takes in a few deep breaths. "Just…give me…a minute."

After the initial shock wears off Jack concentrates on the pain. It doesn't feel like the normal kind of pain. He's not hurt on the outside or inside, but something's not right. This pain feels…magical…like he's sensing something. Not in himself, but someone else. Everything feels all jumbled; a mix of emotions that are trying to come across all at once. That's what's causing the pain, Jack realizes. He feels fear and panic and grief. But who is it coming from?

An image pops into Jack's head. Emma and the snowflake pendant he gave her just a few hours ago. She's thrashing about in her bed and a huge dragon Nightmare looms over her head.

"Emma," Jack says, his own fear and panic lacing his voice. "She's in trouble. It's Pitch, he's back. I have to help her."

Sandy gives him a determined nod and then flies back away from Jack. He summons all of his dream sand to him and forms an airplane with two seats. Jack understands immediately and hops in the back seat.

The two zoom off towards Burgess, Jack praying to the moon that they are not too late.

When they reach Emma's bedroom window both pause a moment to ready their weapons. Jack grips his staff tightly in both hands, his icy magic making the staff glow blue, and Sandy conjures two sand whips in his hands.

They hold their breath as Sandy uses his sand to undo the latch on the inside.

Both Guardians burst into the room…but Pitch is nowhere to be seen.

There is, however, a very large and nasty looking dragon Nightmare flying around Emma's head.

Jack rushes up to Emma, grabs her firmly by the shoulders, and starts shaking her. "Emma!" he shouts. "Emma, wake up!"

He tries again and again but still she does not wake.

Jack uses his staff to shoot ice at the Nightmare, but it goes right through the dark sand. He fires again and again. No effect every time. He's about to swing his staff at the thing when Sandy stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

Sandman steps forward and places his hands on the dragon. The black sand slowly starts to turn gold. The process is slow, spreading only centimeters at a time. It almost stops changing completely.

Sandy should have been able to change the Nightmare into a good dream no problem, that's what he did during the fight against Pitch last Easter.

But this is stronger than anything they've ever faced before.

Sandy's brow furrows as he concentrates harder. The golden sand spreads a few more inches, then a few more, until finally the Nightmare is destroyed.

Emma awakes with a gasp and bolts upright wide-eyed. She looks around in fear, not recognizing her surroundings at first.

"Hey, it's okay," Jack says soothingly. He takes her face gently in his hands and forces her to look at him. "It's okay, Emma. It's me, Jack. You're safe now."

Recognition flashes in her eyes. "Jack."

Jack pulls her against his chest and wraps her tightly in his arms. He can feel her shaking.

"I had this horrible nightmare," she says after a few minutes when her breathing has calmed down. "Only…I'm not sure it was a nightmare."

"What did you see?" Jack asks.

"I was in this dark cave with blood dripping from the walls. The dream always starts the same. I'll see my mom deteriorate from the cancer and die. Then my father gets so angry, rampaging in a rage until he starts to morph into a black dragon. And then this man appears from the shadows. I know he's the one making me see these things. And I'll see them over and over and over again, until the dark man orders the dragon to attack me."

Jack looks at Sandy over Emma's head. Sandy wants to know about the man she saw.

"This dark man," Jack says. "Did he ever tell you his name?"

She nods. "Yes, but only just tonight." She leans away from Jack so she can look him in the eye. "He said his name is Pitch Black. You've mentioned that name before. He's the Boogeyman, right?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you said you defeated him."

"So did we, but spirits are immortal. I'm not sure there _is_ a way for us to die or be destroyed for good. I guess we just beat him down for a while. I mean, we thought we lost Sandy here during the last fight against Pitch, but he came back. What do you think Sandy?"

The Sandman just shrugs his shoulders.

Emma follows Jack's gaze and turns around. "Oh. Hello. I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone else was here." Her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink and she shifts away from Jack to lean against the headboard of the bed.

Jack wants to pull her back into his arms again but figures it probably _is_ best not to do that in front of Sandy.

Sandy floats forward and waves at Emma. He then tries to talk to her with his sand.

"Uh, what's going on exactly?" Emma asks, very confused, and Jack smirks.

"He's saying hello. His name is the Sandman, Sandy for short, and that it's a pleasure to meet you. Sandy's mute, so he uses his sand to form pictures in order to communicate."

"Oh, okay." She holds out her hand to the Sandman. "Hello, Sandy, my name's Emma. It's a pleasure to meet you, too."

Sandy takes her hand with a big smile and then tries to talk to her again.

"Slow down, slow down. I'm new at this." Emma tries to concentrate on the pictures but is quickly disconcerted. "Okay, I give up. What's he saying?"

Jack knows exactly what Sandy said and it's making Jack now turn a few shades pink. "I don't think you want to know, Snowflake." He glares at Sandy. "You've been talking to the kangaroo, haven't you?"

Sandy smiles and shrugs his shoulders innocently.

"I'm gonna freeze that cotton ball's tail next time I see him."

"What? What did he say?"

Jack looks away from her. "Just forget it, Snowflake."

Sandy silently laughs and then decides to change the subject, thankfully.

Emma studies the pictures carefully and then smiles. "You want to know about my necklace, right?"

Sandy gives her a thumbs-up.

"My mom gave me the cross," she says with a sad smile. "And the snowflake Jack gave me."

Sandy gives Jack a pointed look which Jack pointedly ignores.

"I think I knew you were in trouble because of the snowflake," Jack says.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it. I was with Sandy earlier when I felt this stabbing pain in my chest. It was, I don't know, like I was being attacked by a bunch of different emotions all at once, but none of them were my own. Then I just knew it was you and that you needed me."

"How do you think the snowflake is involved?"

"Well, I did put some of my magic in it. Maybe that connected me to you somehow?"

Jack looks at Sandy for any suggestions but the Sandman is deep in thought.

"You know something, Sandy?" Jack asks.

Sandy snaps out of it and quickly shakes his head no. Jack narrows his eyes at him suspiciously. He's hiding something, but Jack doesn't know what. Actually, all of the other Guardians seem to be hiding something. Something about Jack and Emma. But why won't they tell him? Don't they trust him?

Before Jack can think on it too much Sandy says that they should head to the North Pole to call the other Guardians together and warn them about Pitch's return.

"You have to go?" Emma asks.

Jack hesitates. He's scared to leave her alone. What if Pitch returns? "We have to warn the others about Pitch. Do you think you'll be okay for a couple of hours?"

"Yeah, I think so. There's no way I'm going back to sleep after that. I'll probably go stay with Sophie and Jamie, though, just in case." She gets out of bed and heads for the door.

Jack takes her shoulder and turns her around to face him before she goes. "You stay safe, you hear me?"

She smiles. "I will. I'll stick with my cousins and their friends all day. Strength in numbers, right? And besides, I'm awake. He can't do anything to me right now."

"Yeah." Jack strokes her cheekbone with the back of his index finger. "See you soon, Emma."

* * *

**Emma POV**

That morning Jamie and Sophie are surprised to find Emma sitting in a chair staring out their bedroom window. Emma isn't sure if she should tell them about what happened or not. In the end, she figures it's better for them to be aware that Pitch is out there again. What if he decides to go after them? According to Jack, Jamie is one of the main reasons Pitch was defeated last time. Would he go after her cousin looking for revenge?

Jamie is quick to go on high alert, declaring that they should round up the others and spend the day in the park. They'll make sure someone is always keeping a look out for Pitch. If he does show up, Jamie says they know how to take care of him, but Emma isn't so sure. Pitch told her that he's made the Nightmares stronger. Will the touch of a brave believer be enough to stop them this time?

While her cousins and their friends have a snowball fight Emma decides to get in some more archery practice. The feel of the bow is familiar to her. She knows how far to pull back. She knows where to aim in order to get the target right in the center. She knows if she'll hit or miss as soon as she lets the arrow fly. This she knows.

But she doesn't know how much longer her mom has to live. And she doesn't know how much longer her father will be able to hold it together. And she doesn't know what Pitch is planning or how it involves her.

"Nightmare by the jungle gym!" one of Jamie's friends, Pippa, shouts.

Everyone immediately stops what they're doing and gather together in a circle with their backs to each other. Emma has her bow and arrow raised, unsure if it will do any good, but she's determined not to go down without a fight.

"There's another one over by those trees," the girl named Cupcake says.

"There're more coming down the path," the twins shout.

More and more Nightmares approach until they are completely surrounded by at least two dozen. Emma shoves Sophie into the center of the circle, praying she doesn't start yelling "Horsy!" and decides to play with the Nightmares.

"I see the puppets," Emma calls out. "But where is the puppeteer?"

The Nightmares part and Pitch Black rides up on a black dragon Emma knows so well. "Right here."

Emma trains an arrow right at his head. "What do you want?"

"Why, you of course," he says as if it is obvious.

Emma swallows but finds her mouth dry. "Why?"

"Weren't you listening before? I told you that my Nightmares are _nearly_ perfect. There are still a few finishing touches to be done, obviously. _Sandy_ ," he says the name as if it tastes disgusting on his tongue, "should not have been able to change my Nightmare back into one of his good dreams. That was part of my goal. So there is still work to do. And you're going to help me do it."

"I don't think so." Emma sends the arrow flying, but Pitch orders his dragon into the air just in time to avoid it. She cocks another arrow in the bow and prepares to fire again.

"Bring me the girl. I don't care about the rest," Pitch tells his Nightmares and the horses charge.

The children set to work, running up to the horses and touching them to make the dark sand turn gold, but the change is slow. The gold inches across the horses' bodies. And the horses are still very able to attack while the change is in process. The children begin touching horses and then running away as fast as they can, but there are still mores horses coming than there are disappearing. Emma shoots as many arrows as she can, the change still able to take place with each arrow that hits its mark. The horses turn gold a little faster, but not enough to help.

"Retreat!" Emma yells. "Kids get out of here! Go home and get to your parents."

"But what about you?" Pippa asks.

Emma shoots another arrow and it lands in a horse's eye. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

All of the children run off and, just as Emma was hoping, none of the Nightmares go after them.

It's Emma whom they want.

Jamie runs up to stand beside her holding Sophie by the hand. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, you are, Jamie," Emma says sternly. "I need you to get Sophie somewhere safe. I can take care of these guys." Emma shoots an arrow at a horse charging at them in the chest, then again in the head. Using more than one arrow on the same Nightmare seems to make the change go faster. "See? I'll be fine. Now go!"

Jamie hesitates, looks at Sophie, who's scared even though she's acting very brave and trying to hide it, and nods. Her two cousins take off running towards their house.

 _Jack_ , Emma prays silently hoping that her snowflake pendant will allow Jack to hear her. _Jack, I need you. Please, hurry._

"Finally, it's just you and me," Pitch says from behind her.

Emma turns around to face the Boogeyman with only two arrows left in her quiver.

* * *

**Jack POV**

At the North Pole, all five Guardians have gathered. They stand in front of the globe looking down at the shadow the Man in the Moon shows them in his moonbeams.

"It really is Pitch," Bunny says.

Jack rolls his eyes. "We told you that. Do you really know anyone else who uses Nightmares?"

"We have no time for bickering," North says sternly and then looks up at the moon. "Manny, what must we do?"

Before the moon can answer, someone else's fear and dread courses through Jack's veins. He gasps at the pain but it is not as bad as before.

"Jack, what's wrong?" Tooth asks worriedly.

"Emma," he says. "She's in danger." He concentrates on the images in his head. Emma and the Boogeyman standing alone surrounded by Nightmares. "It's Pitch. He's gone after her again."

"In broad daylight?" Bunny shakes his head. "What's he expectin' to do?"

"I don't know but I'm not going to let him." Jack takes out his last snow globe and throws it out in front of him.

Jack, wait, it could be trap!" North warns, but it is too late. Jack is already jumping through the portal and it closes right behind him.

* * *

**Emma POV**

"I can sense your fear you know." Pitch inhales deeply through his nose. "Ahhh. It is such a lovely fear."

Emma aims an arrow at his head. "You don't know anything."

"It's the one thing I always know, people's greatest fears. You fear of losing your mother." Emma's aim falters but she quickly corrects it. "And your father. You're afraid that once she's _dead_ ," Emma winces, "he'll soon follow her, one way or another. Perhaps the alcohol will do him in. Or maybe the abuse will finally come to a head, he'll be carted off, and then die in prison. Although, even if he doesn't end up dead behind bars, he'll have left you nonetheless." He laughs maniacally. "However, perhaps before things get that far he'll take his own life."

Emma's shaking by now, her bow and arrow bobbing around wildly, but she can't seem to steady herself.

Pitch goes on. "Your father has many of the same fears. It's strange, that I'm actually able to sense an adult's fear, but his is just so potent, so fragrant, that it would be hard for anyone to miss." He looks at Emma with those disturbing yellow eyes. "But do you want to know what he fears most?"

Emma doesn't answer.

"He fears that your mother's death is all his fault."

Emma's eyes widen and her arms lower a few inches.

How will her mother's death be his fault?

"As we both know, your mother has cancer, which tends to affect the body in such a way that signs develop. It doesn't always happen, but with your mother it did. She started to get headaches, then nausea, then unexplained weight loss. At first she thought it was just the flu. But as the weeks went by she started to get worse and thought about going to the doctor. Your father, however, was still convinced it was just the flu and it would go away in a couple of days. Then she had the seizure. The doctors look her over for a cause and, lo and behold, they find a brain tumor. Quite large, in fact. They try all the treatments, of course, but by this time the tumor has spread much too far to do any good." Pitch laughs again. "Your father is basically responsible for your mother's condition. If he had just let her go to the doctor she might have lived. This guilt eats at him day in and day out, festering inside his heart to the point where he can't bear it. So what does he do? He consumes alcohol and takes out all of his anger and self-loather on his undeserving daughter."

Emma stares at Pitch, motionless, speechless. She doesn't want to believe it's true. Her mother had always told her that it had been her own decision not to go to the doctor until it was too late. But everything Pitch says, her father's unexplained hatred for her, it just makes such perfect sense.

But it still doesn't do anyone a lick of good.

Emma cries out at the top of her lungs, steadies her bow, and fires. Pitch doges, urges his dragon steed forward, and the dragon rips the bow from her hands with its mouth before she has time to reach for her last arrow. The dragon bites down and snaps her bow to pieces like a toy.

"Time to go for a little ride, Emma. We have work to do." Pit reaches out to grab Emma by her coat.

"Emma!"

Emma turns at the sound of the familiar voice to see Jack fly forward and shoot ice out of his staff at Pitch. The dragon takes to the air and Pitch stares down at them in loathing.

"Destroy Jack Frost," Pitch says and the Nightmare horses stampede.

In one quick motion, Jack grabs Emma around the waist, shoves them to the ground, and slams the end of his staff on the ground. From the very top of the crook's arch ice begins to form spreading all around them to create a dome. The horses begin beating at the ice with their hooves, but the ice is very thick and promises to hold. For now.

"Are you okay?" Jack asks.

"I-I think so." Emma looks up at the ice. "How long can you keep this up for?"

"Long enough for the others to get here. Which should be soon." They hear a loud cracking sound. Jack tightens his hold around her waist. "I hope."

They hear muffled voices and then an explosion coming from outside the dome.

Jack smiles. "It's them."

A battle rages on, Emma's not sure for how long, but when it is over they can see four figures through the thick ice.

"It is safe to come out now," a voice that is undoubtedly North says.

The ice around them disintegrates into snow. Jack and Emma stand among the other four Guardians.

"Hello again, Emma," North says. "I wish this visit were under better circumstances."

Emma smiles. "So do I."

"Did Pitch say why he was after yah, Shelia?" Bunny asks.

"Pitch has been giving me nightmares ever since I got here. He says he's been using me to improve his design of the Nightmares. Now he's almost done, but he wants to take me away somewhere to perfect them." Emma shivers. "Who knows what that means he'll do to me."

Jack takes her hand. "You won't get the chance to find out."

"Jack is right," North says. "We will take you to Pole where you will be safe."

Panic surges through Emma again. "But what about my family?" She looks at Jack. "What if my mom passes while I'm gone?"

Jack rubs his thumb across her knuckles comfortingly. "We can't risk him getting to you. And if you're at the house, it puts your family at risk, too. What if Pitch decides to use them to make you go with him?"

"But my mom…."

North steps forward. "How about this: I shall put small monitoring device in your mother's room. That way, if her condition were to change, we will be notified immediately and we can bring you back. Sound good?"

Emma hesitates. She really wants to be right there when he mom goes. It's going to be any day now. Although, with the snow globes, she can be back in almost an instant.

But Christmas is only two days away. It will be her mother last, and Emma, if she leaves, most likely won't be able to spend it with her.

But can she really put her family in danger like that?

"Alright," she says with a sigh. "I'll go."


	14. Chapter 14

**Emma POV**

Emma wakes to the feel of unfamiliar sheets and an unfamiliar mattress. The sheets are silky soft and the mattress plush, so not much to complain about there. Then she realizes that being in an unfamiliar bed means she is not at Jamie's house. So where is she exactly?

She opens her bleary eyes to a wooden ceiling. Looking around she finds a Russian-style painting on the wall with a picture of a big man in a red coat surrounded by yetis. Then she remembers where she is. The North Pole. She also remembers the events leading up to getting into this bed.

She had to leave her family. Jamie and Sophie had understood. She avoided her father, not like he'd really care right now, anyway, and at least now she won't be subjected to his brutalities for a while. Her mom was probably fast asleep, not that she could have gone to check, though, because she was avoiding her father. Aunt Marcy hadn't been home yet, which was a relief. Trying to convince her aunt to let her leave would have been torture. And most likely unsuccessful. With her aunt still at work, Emma left her a note saying that things between her and her father had gotten really bad and she is going to spend a few nights at a friend's she met in town. Her aunt hasn't been completely oblivious to her dad's anger. She just doesn't know the full extent of it. Emma begged her aunt in her note not to say or do anything to her father until she gets home. It's Christmas. Emma's mom can't have her. She should at least have her dad.

Emma groans and turns over, hoping to go back to sleep, a now guaranteed nightmare-free sleep, where she's still with her family and not being hunted by a madman.

"You awake yet, Snowflake?" a familiar voice asks.

Emma groans again.

When Jack doesn't say anything else Emma figures he guessed her answer is no so she tries to drift off again.

She hears Jack walk across the room, feels the dip in the bed as he sits down, and then she gets poked in the shoulder.

"I know you're awake, Snowflake. Come on, we have a long day ahead of us."

"What if I don't want to be awake?" she asks.

Jack laughs. "I don't see how you could sleep anymore. You've slept for a good thirteen hours."

That gets Emma's attention. She opens her eyes and sits up in bed with her back against the headboard. "Seriously? What time is it?"

"Hard to say exactly in the North Pole. But it's about eight in the morning in Burgess and you went to bed as soon as you got here, which was at about seven."

"Huh. Guess I was tired. I did have a lot of catching up to do."

"Have you really not had a decent night sleep since going to stay with the Bennets?"

"Nope." Emma bites her lip when she realizes that's not entirely true. Her cheeks light up a little.

Jack notices the blush. "What?"

"Well…I did sleep without any nightmares that night you stayed over. Pitch had said the next night that he couldn't visit me before because you had been there, which makes a lot of sense now."

Jack nods. "Yeah. Couldn't risk me catching him sneaking in."

"When you say it like that it makes Pitch sound like a pedophile or something."

"Well, when you think of it that way, _any_ of us spirits sound like pedophiles."

Emma laughs. "Okay, let's just not go there. Change in topic please."

Jack notices Emma unconsciously playing with her necklace, her fingers rubbing the cross the most.

"I'm sorry you can't be with your mother for her last Christmas," Jack says quietly.

The smile on Emma's face quickly fades. Not the best choice for a subject change. "It's okay. It's not like she'll even be awake enough to notice anyway."

Jack leans over to look her in the eye. "What can I do to make you happy right now; to make all of this easier?"

Emma stares down at her hands as they pull and twist at the blankets in her lap. What can Jack do to make her happy? Cure her mom of cancer? Nope, can't do that. Make her father not hate her anymore? Can't do that either. Get her home in time for Christmas? Don't see that happening. Wipe Pitch from the face of the Earth? Seems pretty impossible.

She looks up into Jack's ice-blue eyes and asks the only thing he _can_ do right now that might just help. And it's something no one else can do for her that's just as good.

"I like hugs," Emma suggests in barely a whisper.

Jack half-smiles and his eyes light up. "I think I can do that."

He pulls her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. Emma snuggles her face in the fabric of his hoodie and snakes her arms around behind is back.

Right here, just like this, all of the bad just melts away. Emma wishes she could freeze this moment.

"I wish there was more I could do for you," Jack says into her hair.

"I know. But for now, this is enough."

They sit there for a few long moments, neither wanting to move.

"Jack!" Tooth calls, her muffled voice coming from the hallway. "Jack, where are you?"

Jack cringes. "Crap."

"What's going on?" Emma asks as she reluctantly pulls away just in case Tooth decides to suddenly barge in.

"Well, there's a reason why I was in here when you woke up."

"Besides being a pedophile and watching me sleep?"

Jack narrows his eyes at her. "Yes, besides that. Tooth, apparently, is in charge of decorating the place for the Christmas party for when North comes back from delivering presents. She recruited me to help against my will."

"And that's a bad thing why?"

"Because Tooth is being as demanding as a drill sergeant. It's scary."

Emma smiles. Jack being afraid of the Tooth Fairy, whose half his size, is very amusing. "You know you can't hide from her forever."

Jack grimaces. "Why not?"

"Come on," Emma says with a laugh. "We'll face her together."

* * *

When Emma is dressed in some of the clothes she brought from home and they leave her room Tooth finds them immediately. She rips Jack a new one and then sends them both off to decorate the lounge area next to the globe. A huge Christmas tree, taller than a two story building with sparkling ornaments and lights, has already been set up since right after Thanksgiving. Now it is up to Jack, Emma, Bunny, Sandy, and Tooth to set up red and green streamers, paper snowflakes, and all sorts of other holiday decorations for the party while North and Mrs. N get ready for North's departure.

Jack, however, gets bored almost right away.

"What are these?" Jack asks as he and Emma are hanging streamers from the railing of one of the upper floors.

Emma turns to see him pointing at six toy guns the size of attack rifles. "I don't know. Paintball guns maybe?"

"I've seen paintball guns. They don't look like this. And why were only six of them made?"

"I don't know. Maybe the rest are being loaded into North's sleigh right now." Emma finishes securing the last of the streamers to the railing and drops the long strips over the sides. The wisps of blue and white paper almost look like falling snow. "Come on, Jack, we still have a lot of work to do."

"Yeah," he says distractedly, "Just give me a second." Jack picks up one of the guns and notices writing on the other side of the barrel. "Hey, this says they're snowball guns."

Emma gets an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Don't even think about it, Jack. Now is work time, not fun time."

Jack grins mischievously. "I'm Jack Frost, Guardian of fun. It is _always_ fun time."

He unscrews the long tube on the gun he's holding and uses his magic to fill it with snow. Once the gun is loaded he fires a practice shot at a wooden column. A small snowball shoots out and hits the column with a bang.

"Awesome!" Jack shouts. He starts to fill the rest of the guns.

"Jack, we really shouldn't be doing this," Emma warns.

"Oh, come on, Snowflake, would you rather spend the day decorating or having a little fun?" He holds out one of the guns to her.

Emma stares at the gun as a battle wages inside her. A part of her wants to do the right thing and stop this right now. Another part of her knows that Jack's probably going to do this whether she gives her approval or not.

And another, bigger part of her really wants to shoot Bunny in the tail, especially for the comment he made about Jack and her back at the Warren a few days ago.

Emma takes the gun and the two head downstairs to "convince" the others to play with them.

* * *

Sandy is all for it as soon as they suggest it. Tooth takes a lot of convincing. She wants to finish decorating as soon as possible, but, really, the party isn't until Christmas. They have plenty of time. Bunny is the most reluctant.

That is, until Jack shoots him in the head. Then Bunny declares war.

"So, should this be a free-for-all or team death match?" Emma asks.

"Teams would be more fun," Jack says, "but there're only five of us."

"What about North?"

"He's in his private workshop, checking his list for the third time," Tooth says

"I thought Santa Clause only checks his list twice?"

Jack refills his gun and puts the magazine back in place. "Well, then he really isn't doing anything important right now."

Everyone takes up positions around North's door. Emma goes up to the door and knocks three times. "North, can you come out here for a second? I think the elves have done something to the globe."

"What?! What have those pesky little rascals done this time?" Emma moves out of the way just in time as North bursts through the door.

"Fire!" Jack shouts and everyone fires snowballs at North.

North tries to block the projectiles with his large arms but the effort if futile. By the time the torrent comes to a halt he is covered in snow.

Everyone stands in silence as they wait for North's reaction. They start to wonder if attacking North on the eve of his big day was a mistake.

North suddenly lets out a big joyful laugh. "Hand me my weapon. Instead of coal you shall all get snowball in face!"

Emma officially dubs this game Call of Duty: Snowball Warfare.

They split into two teams, Emma, Jack, and Tooth vs. North, Bunny, and Sandy. They don't really make up any rules, except that anyone next to the globe refilling their weapons from the pile of snow Jack put there are free from attack for sixty seconds. Other than that, they just keep trying to hit each other. Although, thinking back to the hours Emma has spent playing Call of Duty online, they could probably come up with some pretty fun stuff.

After about an hour Mrs. N comes to call the game to a close.

"Sorry to spoil the fun everyone," she says, "but it's just about time for Santa Clause to make his journey around the world."

Emma's face falls in disappointment. "Aw, but we were having so much fun!"

"Well, why don't I fill in for him?"

"You know how to work one of these things, Shelia?" Bunny asks and hands her a gun.

"Oh, please," Mrs. N unloads the magazine, fills up with snow, and reloads. "I invented this particular toy."

"It's true," North says. "Now, before I go, Mrs. N and I need to have word with Bunny, Sandy, and Tooth."

"What about me?" Jack asks.

"Don't worry, Jack, this does not concern you."

Jack looks away in disappointment and Emma can guess at what he's feeling. He's one of them, a Guardian, and they're excluding him.

"Hey," she whispers in his ear, "maybe it just has something to do with your Christmas present. This is your first Christmas with them, right?"

"Maybe…." Jack doesn't sound fully convinced, but he does smile a little.

* * *

**Mrs. N POV**

North, Bunny, Sandy, and Tooth sit down around the table in the dining room. Mrs. N goes around the table handing out mugs of hot cocoa and cookies, occasionally shooing away elves that are trying to get their hands on a few of the goodies, and then takes her place next to her husband who sits at the head of the table.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" North says. A yeti steps forward and hands him a brown leather book with a golden G on the front. The Book of the Guardians. North leafs through the pages as ancient as the moon until he finds what he is looking for. "As you all know, we are here to discuss Jack's and Emma's relationship."

"I think that answer's simple," Bunny says leaning back in his chair with a sly grin. "The two lovebirds are crazy about each other. Teasing them about it has been easy enough to know I ain't wrong."

"Yes, but how deep of a connection do they have? This is big question."

Sandy raises his hand and all eyes turn to him as several pictures slideshow above his head.

"Whadda yah mean he sensed she was in trouble?" Bunny asks. "None of us can sense anything about our believers."

A picture of a snowflake appears over Sandy's head.

"You're sayin' it's that snowflake necklace he gave her the other day?"

Sandy just shrugs his shoulders. Mrs. N has her own theories but she keeps quiet, biding her time for the right moment to speak up.

"Is that how it is for you and Mrs. N?" Tooth asks North.

North shakes his head. "She has never been in any danger so I do not know. It could be that they have the connection or it could just be that the piece of Jack's magic inside the snowflake gives them a unique bond to one another."

"Then how do we know for certain? We can't just jump into this like last time."

"I didn't meet the believer last time," Mrs. N says, "so I could not verify for myself if the connection was genuine or not, but I was watching Jack and Emma today. Seeing them together…I am fairly certain she is one."

North takes her hand. "Are you one hundred percent positive?"

"No, but were you when we met?"

He sighs. "No, but that was before we understood the consequences of being wrong. We had been lucky when it happened with Cupid, but last time…I will not put Jack and Emma through that. I will _not_ risk the girl's life."

"That's right," Bunny chips in. "I don't wanna see the Shelia get hurt either."

Sandy nods in agreement.

"You boys," Mrs. N scoffs. "Always thinking of the worst-case scenarios. Yes, things will not end well for Emma if we do this and are wrong. But what if we are right?" She looks each of them in the eye in turn. "More importantly, what if we are right and do nothing?" She looks at her husband last, into those deep blue eyes that first enchanted her so many years ago. "Will you really put them through the pain of separation for eternity?"

"They will be separated a lot sooner if we are wrong," Tooth says quietly.

"But I don't think we are. I can _sense_ it in Emma. She has such fire in her heart that burns as bright as any Guardian. And her heart also shines with a burning love for Jack. Jack loves her just as strongly. Those two may not realize it themselves yet, but I know they are meant to be together. And I _know_ she is like me."

"But are you _certain_ ," North asks.

She places a hand over her heart. "I can feel it. In my heart. Just as you trust your belly, please, love, trust my heart."

A silence spreads throughout the room, stretching on for minutes. Mrs. N sits tensely as she waits for their answers.

"How about this," Tooth says. "What if we tell Jack and Emma? Jack has no idea about any of this and, really, they should have a say as well. Especially Emma. It's her life we will be gambling with. We let them think about it for a while and _then_ make our decision. If we're still against doing it, despite what Jack and Emma have to say, we can still keep them from completing the ceremony."

Bunny and Sandy both nod in approval. All eyes turn to North.

"All right," he finally says. "Perhaps they should be informed of the situation." He looks to his wife. "Can I leave it to you to explain things to them? You would probably explain it better than anyone since you went through everything Emma will have to deal with."

Mrs. N smiles in triumph. "I'd be happy to."


	15. Chapter 15

**Emma POV**

Emma wakes to the feel of something soft and cold touching her forehead. At first, she thinks it is her mom kissing her awake.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," a voice says, and she's almost certain it is her mom's voice.

"Come on, Snowflake, time to get up."

Snowflake? But her mom doesn't call her Snowflake.

The fog of sleep starts to clear from Emma's mind and she opens her eyes to see not her mom but Jack leaning over her.

A small piece of her breaks inside.

"Morning," Emma says as she sits up in bed.

"Good morning. And Merry Christmas."

That's right. It's Christmas. The bubbling excitement every child gets on Christmas morning surges through Emma. It's Christmas and she's at the North Pole with Santa Clause. That's double the excitement right there.

But it's Christmas and Emma can't spend it with her family.

All excitement ebbs away and she feels tears pinprick at the back of her eyes.

Without even having to say anything Jack pulls her into his arms and holds her close.

But she refuses to allow herself to cry. Crying won't help. It won't fix anything.

After a little while Jack says they need to head downstairs. None of the festivities can start yet because North has yet to return but apparently the others want to talk to them about something. So Emma quickly gets dressed and they head downstairs.

A quarter of the way down the hall Jack takes her hand. It feels cold and rough and strong. It brings a smile back to her face.

She may not get to have Christmas with her family, but she does get to have it with Jack. And the other Guardians, whom she is very much starting to consider family, too.

Jack doesn't let go until just before the others come into view. They're sitting in the lounge area by the globe they spent the majority of yesterday decorating. Mrs. N, Sandy, and Tooth sit on a sofa while Bunny sits in an arm chair. Emma and Jack take the other sofa. The many presents underneath the tree distract Emma for a moment but she manages to tear her eyes away.

"So," Jack starts, "what did you guys want to talk to us about?"

"There is something we would like to discuss with both of you," Mrs. N says and opens the leather-bound book sitting on her lap. Jack seems to recognize it but Emma has no idea what it is.

"The Book of the Guardians?" Jack asks.

"Yes. In this book contains everything we need to know as Guardians. A certain page has interested us very much since we became aware of your growing relationship with Emma."

"R-relationship?" Emma stutters. Her cheeks light up hotter than ever before.

"Don't either of yah try to deny it," Bunny says with a sly grin. "You two are head-over-heels. It's obvious."

Emma doesn't deny it. She knows how she feels about Jack. But there's no way she'll ever be able to act on those feelings. Because of Jack's immortality. Besides, she doesn't even know if Jack feels the same for her.

She sneaks a glance at Jack out of the corner of her eye. His cheeks are just as red as hers, more so even because of the stark contrast with his pale skin. He's also looking at her, his ice-blue eyes questioning, searching.

Could he possibly…?

Jack takes her hand in his again, in front of everyone, lacing their fingers together. Emma's hearts seems to race right out of her chest.

Bunny clears his throat loudly. Surprised, Jack and Emma quickly turn their heads away from each other. They hadn't noticed that they had been staring at each other with big loopy grins on their faces.

But neither pulls their hand away.

"So what of it?" Jack says defensively.

"Well, Jack, you're immortal," Tooth says, her wings twitching behind her. "Which makes a lasting relationship kind of…complicated."

Emma squeezes Jack's hand tighter. She knew this was coming. They're going to say she and Jack can't be together.

Mrs. N puts the book on the coffee table between them and pushes it forward for Jack and Emma to see. "We wanted to tell you that there may be a way."

Jack and Emma lean over to get a better look. The word "Familiar" is written in large, flowing letters at the top of the page.

Emma looks at Mrs. N in confusion. "Familiar? You mean like a witch's familiar?"

"No, but it is a similar concept. A familiar is a person who has a very deep connection to a spirit and is basically the spirit's other half. A familiar has the same powers and center as his or her spirit and assist in the spirit's duties."

"So, what, do we need to find Jack's familiar and they'll be able to help us?"

"No, no, no." Mrs. N sighs. "That is not what I am saying. Maybe this will help you understand." She gets up and sits on the other side of Emma. "I am North's familiar."

Emma's and Jack's eyes go wide.

"I always thought you were just another spirit that North met," Jack says.

Mrs. N shakes her head. "No, when North and I first met I was not a spirit. I was human. I still believed in Santa Clause at a very old age, not much younger than you, Emma, when I met him. I felt a deep connection with North right away, even though he looked old enough to be my grandfather, but I didn't understand it until I was around the same age he was when he had died." She stares into the fire burning in the fireplace with a soft, kind smile. "We were in love. It was then that the page on familiars first appeared in the book. It says that the Man in the Moon has given every spirit a special connection to a person who will eventually be born into this world. The two are destined to meet and then be together forever."

"Like soul mates?" Emma asks.

"Yes. North took the page's appearance as a sign that I was his familiar. We followed the instructions in the book and I was indeed able to turn into a spirit just like him. I now assist with Christmas and everything that goes along with it."

Hope blooms in Emma's chest. Jack squeezes her hand and she knows he feels the same. "So…there's a chance…for Jack and me?"

"Yes, there is a _chance_ …but there is also a _catch._ You see, there have only been three instances in which it was thought that a spirit found their familiar. I was the first. The second happened with Cupid a couple of decades later. He fell in love with a girl named Vanessa. Cupid brought North to where the girl lived, she said she wanted to be with Cupid forever, and she became his familiar. But the third is where things went terribly wrong. A spirit fell in love with a believer, the believer underwent the ceremony, and then…died."

Emma's jaw falls open in horror. "W-why did the believer die? Did they do something wrong?"

"In a way, I suppose they did. The book says that the ones chosen to be familiars are very specific. It can't just be anyone the spirit falls in love with. This spirit fell in love with a believer, but they were not meant to be together. That's the problem with the human heart, it can fall in love many times before finding the _right_ one. The believer was not supposed to become a familiar and so could not survive the change. Because they were never meant to undergo it."

"Is there no way to check for sure if a believer is really a familiar?" Jack asks.

"I really don't know. The book doesn't say anything. It is thought that maybe familiars can sense it in a believer, but I never met Vanessa before the change and I did not meet the other believer."

Emma takes in a deep breath. "Do you sense anything in me?"

Mrs. N takes Emma's other hand. "My child, I _do_ sense something in you, but, honestly, how can I be sure that it is not simply wishful thinking? How do I know I feel something if I have never felt it before? This is what I fear most." She looks across the table at Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny. "The others fear it, too. But I do not believe I am wrong about you being a familiar."

"But how can you know for _sure_?" Jack asks.

"I can't. I just have faith in my heart." Mrs. N stands up and the other Guardians follow. "Now, I'm sure the two of you must want to talk about this with each other. You don't have to make a decision now. You can wait as long as you want. It's probably better for you to wait a while anyway. But when you are done talking for now I need Emma to come to my workshop, please."

Mrs. N, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy walk off, leaving Jack and Emma alone.

So many thoughts and emotions spiral around in Emma's mind. She had always been afraid to admit her feelings for Jack, even to herself, because they could never really be together. Jack is going to stay forever young while Emma is getting older with each passing day and will eventually die.

But now…now there is a real possibility that they could be together.

"Jack, what should we do?" Emma whispers.

"Easy," he says nonchalantly, "you're not doing it."

Emma's chest tightens. "Why not? Do you…do you think I am not your familiar?"

Are his feelings really not as strong as hers?

"No," he says quickly. "No, that's _so_ not what I'm saying. I didn't mean for it to come out sounding like that."

"Then why won't you let me do it?"

"It's just…," Jack lets go of her hand and goes to stand in front of the fire. The flaming logs crackle in the silence.

Emma stands as well. "Just what?"

"I don't want to lose you!" Jack's voice suddenly explodes as he turns around to face her. His body shakes with tension, his staff gripped tightly in one hand. Anger, fear, and grief clearly shine in his ice-blue eyes.

He walks over to her, throws his staff down on the couch, and takes her face roughly in his hands. "You are the most important thing in my life," he says, almost a whisper now. "Ever. I _will not_ risk losing you, Emma."

Emma places her hands over his. "But, Jack, you _will_ lose me if we don't do this. I'm still going to die someday."

"I would rather spend one lifetime with you than forever without you." His lips rise in a half-smile. "Like Arwen was planning to do with Aragorn from _Lord of the Rings_."

"But Arwen's father saw a life of eternal grief for her after Aragorn died. I don't want to put you through that."

"If we do this and are wrong I'll be going through it a lot sooner."

"At least you'll have a chance to find your real familiar," she says with a sad smile. "Then losing me won't be so hard."

"No." Jack pulls her against her chest and they wrap their arms around each other. "I don't want anyone else."

"Then do you think I'm your familiar?"

"I don't know, Emma. I just don't know." He sighs. "Why couldn't the Man in the Moon make this easier?"

"I guess it's just that love is never easy for anyone. There are never any guarantees." She buries her face in his chest, her cheeks becoming slightly blushed at saying the word "love."

"What about your life?" Jack says after a few minutes of silence. "Your friends and family. Are you really willing to give it all up?"

"The only person whose ever really cared about me before I met you is about to die," Emma says quietly. "My father couldn't care less anymore. I have no friends to speak of. And Aunt Marcy, Jamie, and Sophie don't really need me. I never saw them much before this winter anyway."

"But what if your mom's passing is the wakeup call your father needs to realize that he does really need you?"

"That's an optimistic thought, but considering how he is now he'll most likely just get worse once she's gone." Pitch said that her father doesn't want to blame himself for her mom's illness getting so far before they caught it. He takes it out on Emma as a way to protect himself. Once her mom is gone the guilt will be so much heavier. Meaning beatings will probably become more common.

Jack sighs and kisses the top of her head. "How about we…put this on hold for now, like Mrs. N said? At least for today. Let's just enjoy Christmas."

Emma looks up at him and smiles. "Okay. Sounds good to me. But we _will_ talk about it more?"

"Of course." Jack places a soft kiss on her forehead and unwraps his arms from around her. "You better go find out what Mrs. N wants."

Emma nods and heads over to Mrs. N's private workshop. As she opens the door and heads inside she knows it doesn't really matter if they talk about it more or not.

Her mind is already made up.

* * *

As soon as Emma closes the door behind her she's ambushed. Mrs. N and Tooth grab her by the shoulders and steer her towards another room. She tries to ask them what's going on but they won't answer. They enter a large bathroom with a huge bathtub and vanity. They force her to sit in the plush chair in front of the vanity. Several different kinds of makeup and hair products sit on the table.

"Would one of you please tell me what's going on?" Emma asks.

"We're helping you get ready for the party of course!" Tooth exclaims and goes for the makeup.

Emma tries to protest many times, she doesn't like to wear a whole lot of makeup and dressing up has never been something she really enjoyed before, but Tooth won't listen as she does up Emma's face and hair. Mrs. N stands to the side and watches Tooth's work. What kind of torture Mrs. N is going to be doing, Emma has no idea. She's not even sure what Tooth is doing. They won't let her look in the mirror.

After what feels like hours Tooth suddenly holds out a hair clip for Emma to inspect. It's silver with three interlocking snowflakes. "This is my Christmas present to you."

Emma takes it in her hands. It's lighter than she thought it would be and absolutely beautiful. "Thank you, Tooth," she says as she hands it back to Tooth to put in her hair. "I'll cherish it always."

Tooth stands back with a smile and admires her work. "All done. Your turn Mrs. N."

Mrs. N takes a dress bag from where it is hanging from a hook on the wall and begins to unzip it. "This is my Christmas present to you." She takes the dress out and helps Emma get into it.

The dress is absolutely marvelous. It's made out of a light, soft, deep blue fabric with silver snowflakes embroidered into it. The sleeves are long and bell out at her wrists, but her shoulders are left bare. White fur trims the bottom of the skirt, the sleeves, and goes around her shoulders and the neckline of the dress.

"Now, it's time for you to get a look at yourself." Mrs. N takes Emma by the shoulders and turns her to face the mirror.

Emma gasps in awe. She hardly looks like herself. The dress fits her like a glove and compliments curves she didn't even realize existed. The makeup Tooth put on was not as much as Emma first feared. It makes her skin almost glow and the blue eye shadow makes the green in her eyes pop. Tooth managed to wrangle her hair into beautiful cascading waves, some of it held up at the back of her head with the clip and the rest falling down her back.

"Is that…me?" Emma whispers.

"Of course it is, dear."

"But I look…beautiful."

"You've always been beautiful," Tooth says as she places a hand on Emma's shoulder. "We just wanted to help you see that."

"Thank you." Emma gives them both a hug.

Someone knocks on the door. Mrs. N gives permission to enter and a yeti comes in. It says something in its strange language, how Mrs. N understands it Emma has no idea, and then leaves.

"My husband has just returned," Mrs. N says. "The party can now begin."

* * *

Emma is really nervous as they approach the lounge where everyone else is waiting for them. The same thought keeps going through her head: Will Jack like the way she looks? She never really cared much about it before. She's worn a pair of slacks and a baggy t-shirt around him before and it never mattered to her that she probably looked like a bum.

But now….

Emma unconsciously reaches up a hand to make sure her hair is still in place, but Mrs. N stops her.

"Oh, stop fussing," Mrs. N scolds. "You look beautiful and I know he'll think so, too."

Before Emma can say anything they make it to the party. Yetis are standing all around with cups of eggnog in their hands, enjoying the relief of getting all of the toys done on time. A table stands off to the side covered in all sorts of finger foods. North, Sandy, and Bunny are standing next to the Christmas tree talking amongst themselves. And standing in front of the fireplace is Jack.

All of the talking immediately stops as everyone notices Emma. All eyes turn to her, including Jack's. The blank stare he gives her is almost comical. She probably would have laughed under different circumstances. But right now, it makes it hard to understand what he thinks of her appearance. He numbly walks over to her, still staring.

"H-hi," Emma says nervously.

"Hi," he replies and his stoic expression finally breaks into a soft smile. He takes her hand in his and brings it to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles. "You look…beautiful."

She blushes a deep red. "T-thank you."

Jack tugs on her hand and she follows him to go sit on one of the sofas. The yetis gradually resume their talking and the rest of the Guardians go over to sit with Jack and Emma.

"Shall we do presents?" North asks. "Opening of presents is always my favorite part!" A couple of the yetis gather the presents that are sitting under the tree and set them down on the coffee table.

"Who should go first?" Tooth asks excitedly.

"I think Emma should get the first present," Mrs. N says. "North, how about you give her yours?"

"Splendid idea!" North grabs a long cylindrical box and hands it to Emma. "Open it! Open it!"

The excitement and joy of Christmas floods through Emma's veins as she tears off the wrapping paper and opens the box. When she sees what's inside her eyes go big with wonder. Emma lifts the bow delicately out of the box. It is a longbow, like what she used to have before Pitch destroyed it, with several snowflakes carved intricately into the wood.

"Oh, North," she says with a huge grin. "I don't know how to thank you."

"The look on your face is enough, little one." He rubs his hands together eagerly. "Now, who shall go next?"

"Can I give you guys my presents?"

"Of course," North says in surprise, obviously not expecting Emma to have prepared something for them all. Emma passes out paper bags filled with tissue paper to everyone and waits impatiently for them to open the presents. Each of them takes out a piece of paper and let out ooos and awes. Emma had drawn them each a picture in colored pencil. North received one of him working in his workshop, Bunny got one of him painting Easter eggs back at the Warren, Tooth got one of her in the Tooth Palace among her fairies, and Sandy's is of him on his sand cloud spreading dreams to sleeping children in the night. She had only seen each of the scenes once before drawing the pictures, but it was enough for her to be able to draw them in beautiful detail.

Jack's is a little different. His is of him and Emma skating on his lake, smiling and holding hands.

"Wow," Jack says and he smiles at her. "Thank you. This is the best Christmas present I've ever gotten." Everyone else says thank you as well. Emma's heart bubbles with happiness.

"How about we give you my present next, Frost," Bunny says. He has a strange glint in his eye that he tries to conceal, but Emma sees it. Should she scoot away from Jack?

North hands off the present to Jack. He opens it to reveal an Easter egg. Jack laughs and is about to say something when the egg promptly explodes, coating his face and hair in a pink powder. Everyone bursts out laughing. Emma tries to contain her laughter, for Jack's sake, but it is just way too hard.

Jack gives Bunny a death glare and says, "All right, kangaroo, you open my present next."

Bunny looks at Jack and then the present North hands him warily, but it's not like he can refuse to open it with everyone watching. He sighs resignedly and opens the present. Inside is a snowball which also promptly explodes in bunny's face, freezing his fur into icicles. Everyone bursts out laughing again and Jack gives Bunny a triumphant grin.

Emma is sure that this is just the beginning of a new tradition of prank Christmas gifts the two are going to do every year now.

After Jack and Bunny clean themselves up the rest of the presents are opened. Emma wonders what they're going to do next when all of the yetis begin to file out and the other Guardians move to follow them.

"Where are you guys going?" Jack asks.

"This is another Christmas present we are giving you two," Mrs. N says. "Some alone time." She goes over to an old record player and puts on some music. It's Christmas music, but only the instruments playing, not the words.

"Have fun, you two," Bunny says with a wink and everyone else exits the room, leaving Emma and Jack alone.

They sit there in awkward silence for several minutes. Just what are they supposed to do?

A familiar song starts to play, "The Christmas Song" that's usually sung by Nat King Cole.

Jack suddenly stands up and holds out a hand. "May I have this dance?"

"I-I don't know how to dance," Emma admits.

"My mom taught me how when I was little. Don't worry, it's easy."

Emma hesitates, but then accepts his hands. They walk over near the fire, Jacks hands at her waist, Emma's hands on his shoulders, and they begin to sway and move in slow circles in time with the music. She stares at the floor, afraid that she is going to accidentally step on Jack's feet.

Jack moves one of his hands to lift her chin. "Don't look at your feet. Just look at me and follow my lead."

Emma does as she is told and soon finds herself getting lost in Jack's ice-blue eyes. She's not worried about feet anymore. She just concentrates on the feeling of being in Jack's arms.

"Emma?" Jack asks as the song comes to an end.

"Yes, Jack?"

"There's something else…that I wanted to give you for Christmas."

"Jack, I don't need anything else." She touches the snowflake pendant hanging around her neck. "This was a lovely gift."

"But I gave that to you before Christmas."

"It doesn't matter. Either way, just being here with you is all I need."

"But still…," Jack struggles to find the right words to say what he wants to say.

In the end, he gets a little help.

A bright light flashes above their heads. Both of them look up to see a long string magically appear from the ceiling ending about two feet above their heads. At the end of it some mistletoe begins to grow.

Jack smiles. "Thanks, North."

"Oh," Emma says as it finally clicks what he was trying to say.

They stare into each other's eyes again underneath the mistletoe, their heads coming closer and closer until they are millimeters apart.

Emma closes her eyes just as Jack's lips meet hers. They're soft and cold, just like she was expecting, but the cold seems to send heat spreading all through her down to the tips of her toes. Emma angles her head the other way, pressing herself as close to him as possible, deepening the kiss. Jack holds onto her just as tightly as if he doesn't ever want to let her go.

After a few minutes they break away for much needed air with huge smiles on their faces.

Jack leans his forehead against hers. "Merry Christmas, Emma."

"Merry Christmas, Jack."

* * *

Emma's not sure just how long Jack and she stayed up last night, kissing, then dancing, then kissing some more, but the next morning seems to come only minutes after falling asleep. But she loves how she wakes up, with strong, cold arms wrapped around her and a pair of lips pressing against hers. She smiles and opens her eyes to see Jack's face inches from hers.

"Good morning," he says as his eyes roam her face as if trying to commit every inch of it to memory.

"Good morning." Emma leans up for another kiss, but they are interrupted with the bedroom door bursts open.

Jack and Emma instantly separate. North stands in the door holding a strange device in his hand, breathless. Emma is about to reprimand him for not knocking when she notices his very wide eyes and pale face.

"North, what's wrong?" she asks. "And what is that?"

"This is the receiver for the monitoring device I put in your mother's room," he says quietly.

Emma's heart fills with dread. "Is she alright?"

North shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Emma, but I'm afraid she's not."


	16. Chapter 16

**Emma POV**

Emma stands in the front yard of her aunt's house, unsure of what she is going to find once she goes inside. North said that her mom's vitals suddenly dropped, but she's not dead.

Yet.

It's happening soon, though. Emma can feel it. Which is why she is afraid to go inside.

She is afraid that all her mom is waiting on is to see Emma one last time. Then she'll leave for good.

If Emma just stays away, will her mom hang on a little while longer?

Jack drapes an arm across her shoulders and squeezes. "Do you want me to go in with you?"

Emma thinks about it for a long time. It's tempting, so, so tempting, to ask Jack to be her crutch. He's done it once before, when her dad first hit her. Jack helped keep all of the pieces together. Would it really be so bad to ask him to do the same now?

"No," Emma says finally. "I'll be alright."

She needs to know that, whatever happens, she'll still be able to keep walking on her own two feet.

"Okay, I understand. I'll stay close, though, just in case Pitch decides to show up. If you need me," he touches a finger to her snowflake charm, "let me know." Jack places a kiss on the top of her head and then takes off into the sky.

Forcing her numb body forward, Emma walks towards the door, unlocks in, and enters the house.

It's quiet. Too quiet. Like a graveyard, late at night, and the souls of the dead fill the air. The atmosphere is thick with mourning.

The door to the guest bedroom is wide open. Emma can see her aunt and cousins standing at the foot of her mom's bed and her father is sitting at her mom's side, hand in hand. No one says anything as Emma enters the room and drags a chair to the other side of her mom's bed. No one questions where she's been or what pushed her to leave or how she knew to come back. Because, right now, none of that really matters.

Her mom has absolutely no color left in her skin, she's thinner than ever before, and her breathing is weak. _She's_ weak. They can all feel it, even Emma. She's not going to live past this day.

Tears prickle at the back of her eyes, but she pushes it back and forces her voice to remain steady as she says, "Mommy?"

Eyelids flutter and then a pair of green eyes finds Emma's face. Emma smiles in relief. Her mom's eyes still hold that familiar fiery strength. At least that hasn't faded.

"Hello, sweetie," her mom says, barely a whisper. "I was hoping I would see you today."

Emma takes her mom's other hand. It feels so thin and frail. "Well, here I am."

"I…wanted to tell you…something." She pauses, taking in a few wheezing breaths. "I…wanted you to know that…I love you…and I'll always…be with you." She moves her hand out of Emma's and touches the cross around Emma's neck. "And remember… Celebrate life…die…righteously…prevail over…sorrow," she gives Emma an intense look at that part, "and give thanks."

Emma tries to stay strong as she listens to her mom's breaths become shorter and shorter, as she watches her mom's eyes begin to fade. Her mom's hand falls to the bed as the last of her strength leaves her.

She takes in one last breath, gives Emma a small smile, and then the last bit of light in her eyes is gone.

"Honey?" Emma doesn't have to check for a heartbeat or breathe to know that her mom is dead, but her father does these things anyway. "Honey…no….no, please don't leave me." He shakes her shoulders roughly. "Please don't leave me! You can't leave me here!" He pulls his wife's body into his arms and begins to sob.

Emma's aunt is sobbing, too. Jamie is crying quietly, the brave little runt staying the strong man of the house. Even Sophie is crying, though she is probably too young to really understand what's going on.

Emma just feels numb.

She was there. Her mom was just there…but now she is gone. The light in her eyes that Emma always associated with her mom is gone. There is nothing now…only emptiness. Emma tries to hold on to that feeling of emptiness so that she can stay strong. If she can keep the emotions at bay then she'll be able to get through this. She won't break down.

 _Celebrate life_ , her mom said.

Her mom definitely did that, every day, with every breath, and every action.

_Die righteously._

Her mom struggled against the cancer in her brain for a long time. She failed, but she certainly did die righteously.

_Prevail over sorrow._

Her mom always had a smile on her face, even when things were tough. How is Emma supposed to do that now? How does her mom expect her to?

_And give thanks._

Her mom was always grateful for everything, for every paycheck, every sunny summer day, every snowflake, every flower, every minute with her family, every breath she took. How is Emma supposed to be thankful now? Her mom was taken from her. There is nothing to be thankful for.

Emma stands abruptly and runs out the front door before anyone has the chance to stop her. She doesn't even grab her coat.

She discovered a world _filled_ with magic. A man who can give children dreams. A fairy who can help children remember the most precious of memories. A bunny who hands out hope with each beautiful egg. A man who builds children wondrous toys.

A boy who showed Emma the glories of winter.

But there was no one who had the power to help her mom. There was no one who could erase the tumor from existence and stop her mom from dying.

What good is magic if it can't save people?

Emma's foot catches on a crack in the sidewalk and she falls to the ground, the snow instantly drenching her jeans. As soon as her knees hit the concrete she knows she can't hold it all in any longer. The tears spill over and sobs wrack through her body. She covers her chest with her arms, afraid that the wrenching pain is her heart breaking and it's going to spill out of a gaping wound.

Something cold touches her cheek, freezing the tear tracks, and Emma looks up through blurry eyes to see Jack kneeling in front of her. She wants to ask him why there wasn't any magic that would save her mom, but she can't stop crying.

She doesn't have to though. Jack can tell. He pulls her into his arms and rocks her back and forth. "I know, Emma. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything, that none of us could, but magic doesn't work like that. It helps people find the good in themselves, to find the light amidst the darkness. It helps people discover the impossible things they can do themselves, but it can't do the impossible."

Emma clutches at the front of his sweater and buries her face in his chest. He's right. She knows he is. But the pain still won't stop.

"Shhhh," Jack whispers in her ear. "It's okay. I've got you."

Jack holds Emma for a long time, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, until the sobs subside and then finally the tears stop falling. She can't stop shaking, though, and Jack realizes that it's probably not because of her crying. She ran out of the house without her coat on and it's snowing. Jack lets go of her for a minute, pulls his hoodie off, and helps her get into it. She still feels pretty numb inside, but a part of her still takes notice to the snug white t-shirt Jack seems to wear under the hoodie and the fact that his arms are a lot more muscular than she could ever tell before.

Jack wordlessly picks her up off the ground and they fly back to her aunt's house. Emma knows she should probably go back in through the front door, but she doesn't have the strength to argue when Jack opens her bedroom window and they slip inside.

"You should probably get out of those soaked clothes," Jack says quietly and she nods.

Emma grabs a pair of pajamas out of the dresser and goes into the hallway bathroom to change. She avoids looking in the mirror, not wanting to see the effects her crying has done to her. Once she's changed she holds Jack's hoodie in her hands and stares at it for a few minutes. Bringing it to her nose, she inhales deeply, taking in the hints of forest, crisp clean air, and Jack's natural scent that cannot be described. Without a second thought she pulls the hoodie back on and then rejoins Jack in her bedroom.

The covers on the bed are already pulled back, bringing the smallest of smiles to her face. Emma climbs into bed and Jack tucks her in snugly. He then turns to leave.

"Where are you going?" Emma asks, finally finding her voice, though it is hoarser than she thought it would be.

"I thought you might want to be alone," Jack says and he looks at her questioningly, hoping to discern for himself what it is that she needs most right now.

Emma holds out a hand to him. "Please stay." He takes her hand and she squeezes tightly. "Please, Jack Frost?"

He smiles gently and then lies down next to her with his arms firmly around her and her head on his shoulder.

"I don't think I could say no even if I tried."

Maybe Emma does have something to be grateful for after all.

* * *

The next morning the numbness is back. For one blissful moment she does not remember the previous day's events. Emma tries to keep it that way, subconsciously knowing that there is something she really does not want to remember, and she pushes herself closer to Jack's body. But then the memories do return, all in a flood, bringing tears to her eyes once again.

Her mom is dead.

Emma tries to tell herself not to cry. To keep it all in. She doesn't want anyone to worry about her and if she keeps crying all the time then someone is sure to get worried. Especially Jack.

But how is she supposed to hold herself together when her strongest pillar of support is now dead?

Traitor tears start streaming down her face. She can't keep them in. She can feel herself falling apart at the seams as sobs start to shake her body again.

What is she supposed to do?

What _can_ she do?

She just wishes the pain would stop.

Jack's arm tightens around her waist and his other hand cups the side of her face, his thumb stroking back and forth along her cheek catching any tears that fall. He holds Emma as she cries, holds all of her broken pieces together.

Eventually she manages to pull herself together and stop crying. When she does she looks up into Jack's face. His eyes are filled with worry and sadness.

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly as he brushes her hair back away from her face.

Emma snuffles loudly. "Not really. Sorry I keep crying on you."

"Don't be silly, Emma. I will always be here for you no matter what. So don't worry about wetting my shoulder. It's yours to wet whenever you need it."

Emma laughs a little but it comes out sounding choked. "Thank you." Her hand goes to the cross and snowflake hanging around her neck. "You know, I've known my mother would be leaving me soon for a long time. I've tried to prepare myself for it as best I could but…I don't think I could have gotten through all of this if I hadn't met you, Jack."

"Sure you would have. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. Actually, you're one of the strongest people I know. You're in the running very close with North."

"I don't feel very strong right now." She sighs, deep and long. "Will this ever get easier? Just…any of it?"

"One day, I think it will. It just takes time and the support of people who love you." He kisses the top of Emma's head. "That includes me."

She hugs him tightly. "Thank you, Jack Frost."

"Anytime."

Jack holds her for a long time, both of them enjoying the other's embrace, as they watch the sun creep across the room.

Eventually, Jack asks, "So what do you want to do today? You can't stay in bed all day. You're aunt's bound to come in and check on you eventually."

"I'm just going to spend the day with my family." Emma sits up in bed. "We need each other right now."

"Then I guess I'll head out." Jack gets out of bed and stretches his arms above his head.

Emma takes off Jack's hoodie and hands it back to him. "You'll stay close, right?"

"Of course." He leans down and gives her a quick kiss. And then another. And then another.

Emma smiles against his lips, love bubbling up inside her, floating above the sadness and grief.

Yes, so long as she and Jack are together, everything will be alright.

Someday.

* * *

Emma dresses in her favorite blue turtleneck and her comfiest jeans, not sure what to expect out of this day. She knows by now that her mom's…body….has already been taken away, but she's not sure exactly what's next.

As she descends the stairs her father comes into view, sitting on the couch just blankly staring at his hands. Emma hesitates on the last stair. Should she try to talk to him or would it be best to leave him alone right now? She walks towards him slowly.

"Dad?" she says softly, but there is no response.

Emma sighs and then heads towards the kitchen. Jamie and Sophie are sitting at the table while Aunt Marcy prepares eggs and toast for breakfast. There is a cloud above everyone's heads that darkens even more when they notice Emma.

Aunt Marcy walks over and gives Emma a hug. "Hey, sweetie. You doing okay?"

Emma nods. "As good as can be expected, I guess."

Her aunt smiles sadly. "How about you sit down and I'll get you some breakfast. Everything's about ready."

Emma turns to take a seat at the table but freezes when she sees her father standing in the doorway. His eyes are filled with crazed rage.

Emma knew it was only a matter of time before she found out if he would get better or worse after what happened yesterday.

Looks like it's going to be worse.

He just stands there, taking in labored breaths, nostrils flaring. His eyes bounce between everyone in the room. Emma gets nervous as his attention goes to Jamie and Sophie. She wordlessly holds out a hand and motions them to back away. They slowly get up and she pushes them behind her towards their mom. Her father's eyes watch them as they move. As they pass her he focuses on Emma.

"You," her father's voice is low and tinted with anger. He storms forward and grabs her roughly by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her skin. "You took her away from me. You made her leave!" He tosses her into the fridge and she loses her footing, falling to the tile floor. Emma tries to get back up but she isn't fast enough. "This is all your fault!" Her father hits her across the face with the back of his hand. It stings but the pain helps her focus. Emma manages to get her feet under her and runs towards the living room.

She can hear her father chasing after her. She makes a run for the front door but doesn't make it before her father grabs her wrist and flings her against the glass coffee table. It shatters under her weight and she can feel several shards break her skin.

Emma only catches a glimpse of a closed fist before it collides with the side of her head. She crumbles into a pile of limbs and broken glass on the floor, stars dancing in front of her eyes.

She can hear voices shouting, a woman screaming for her father to stop. Aunt Marcy. Emma's eyes focus on the figure of her aunt trying to haul her father away from her, but her father easily flings his sister-in-law aside. Aunt Marcy is about to try again when Emma shakes her head. Her aunt sees the movement and looks at her with worry and desperation. Emma mouths "9-1-1." Her aunt nods in understanding and leaves the room in search of her phone.

All Emma can do is curl in on herself, using her arms to protect her head, as her father begins to kick her. He lands a few blows to her side and she cries out in pain.

Her father is hurting. He just lost the love of his life. Part of the responsibility is his to carry but he won't accept it. If she just lies here and takes it will he feel better and come back to her?

He hits her in the side again. If he keeps going like this he's sure to break a rib.

Whether this is really helping her father or not, Emma knows her mom never wanted this.

The room temperature suddenly drops and Emma almost cries with joy. She lowers her arms slightly to see Jack standing at the foot of the stairs, his staff held tightly in his hands and his own rage making him look deadly.

Maybe her father can't see Jack, but Emma is sure that Jack's ice can still do plenty.

"Leave her alone!" Jack yells and he points his staff at her father. A blast of ice crystals shoots out from the crook and her father is sent flying across the room, hitting the wall and landing on the floor in an unconscious lump.

Jack gives her father one final heated glare and then rushes towards her, face now full of concern. "Are you alright?"

"I think so," Emma says through gritted teeth. Jack helps her sit on the couch and every movement sends a jolt of pain through her head and chest.

Her aunt and cousins appear from the kitchen to see if the silence means the coast is clear. They ask what happened and Emma says that she got in a lucky shot and knocked him out. Of course, with one glance at Jack, Jamie and Sophie can guess the truth.

A couple of cops and paramedics come a few minutes later. The rouse her father, who then starts yelling at Emma again, and the cops haul him away in handcuffs. Statements are collected and the paramedics check out Emma. She as a lot of bruises, even bruises on her ribs, but other than that she's fine. They still recommend she see a doctor and Emma promises to do so tomorrow.

Jack stays by her side the entire time, even as adults pass right through him, which Emma finds very disconcerting. It's strange, him being there yet not there. And she finds it very difficult to pretend that he isn't there and not acknowledge his presence, especially when all she wants to do is be held by him whether her ribs protest or not.

After what feels like forever the paramedics, cops, and her father leave. With what happened today her father is probably going to be put away for a very long time.

So, in the span of twenty-four hours Emma lost both her mom and her father.

When no one is looking, Emma grabs Jack's hand and heads upstairs.

"Are you okay?" Jack asks in the silence of the hallway.

"I…I don't know," she answers truthfully. "I love my father, or at least the man he used to be, but he very well could have killed me today and he wouldn't have cared."

Jack squeezes her hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Maybe now he'll get the help he needs. What's going to happen to me, though, I'm not sure."

Emma opens her bedroom door and is immediately grabbed by a pair of grey, clammy hands. Her hand slips from Jack's as she is hoisted onto the back of a black dragon by Pitch Black, landing on her stomach with her legs and feet dangling.

"I know what's going to happen to you, my precious," Pitch says, an evil glint in his yellow eyes. "You're coming with me."

"Emma!" Jack shouts as he reaches for her, but the dragon is already leaping out the open window. Emma tries to squirm off the dragon's back but Pitch keeps a firm hold on her.

The dragon zips through the air going faster than any of the cars they pass on the streets below them.

"Emma!" Jack shouts again. He's flying after them but he's falling further and further behind.

"Jack!" Emma reaches out a hand towards him even though she knows it is pointless.

Soon Jack falls completely out of sight.


	17. Chapter 17

**Jack POV**

Jack keeps flying for a long time, trying fruitlessly to catch up with Emma and Pitch.

But it is pointless.

He knows that.

He admits it to himself as he slowly floats to the ground, landing in the middle of his frozen lake. Sinking to his knees, Jack punches the ice over and over and over again until his knuckles bleed. He yells out long and loud, his raw emotions echoing between the trees.

He lost her. The one person he's cared about more than anyone in his entire three hundred plus year existence and he lost her. Didn't he swear to protect her? He promised Emma that he would keep her safe from Pitch. That he would not let Pitch win. Now she's gone, slipped literally right through his fingers, and there was nothing he could do about it. He failed her.

How can he call himself a Guardian if he can't even protect the one he loves?

Jack screws his eyelids closed against the tears that threaten to come. In the darkness, Emma's face appears, her happy, smiling face, with those beautiful green eyes that have such fire in them.

She's so strong. She's been able to keep on going when she ought to have fallen so hard she never would have been able to get back up again.

Jack clutches his staff tightly in his hand and looks up at the moon.

He needs to be strong now. For Emma.

"I _will_ save her," he swears on the moon. Then he takes the snow globe out of his sweater pocket and takes the portal back to the North Pole.

Jack appears in front of the giant globe where the other Guardians are waiting anxiously. He lands just inches in front of Bunny, causing him to jump back in surprise. Normally, Jack would have teased the kangaroo about it, but there is no time for that now.

"He took her," Jack says before anyone else has a chance to speak. "We have to go now!"

"Who has who now?" North asks. "And where's Emma?"

Jack clenches his jaw and averts his gaze from everyone. "Pitch took Emma. I…I couldn't protect her.

"Oh, Jack," Tooth flies up to him and places a consoling hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

A snowflake appears above Sandy's head.

"Yeah, I can still feel her through the snowflake. Mainly fear and panic, but nothing else. He…he hasn't done anything to her yet."

That's what Jack fears more than anything, what Pitch might do to her.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bunny takes out his boomerangs, ready for a fight. "Let's go get the Shelia! She's gotta be at his lair, right?"

"Yes, let's go show Boogeyman who's boss!" North exclaims. "Everyone, to sleigh!"

They rush off to the sleigh and pile inside. Jack smiles as North commands the reindeer to take off, remembering when Emma saw this sleigh for the first time on Christmas Eve as everyone saw North off. Her eyes had been so big and bright, just like his were when he first saw it. Jack could tell Emma wanted to take a ride in it despite her fear of heights, but that's the thing about North's sleigh. _Everyone_ loves the sleigh.

Once outside in the open air, North throws a snow globe and they are transported to the skies above the forest of Burgess. North sets the sleigh down on Jack's lake and the Guardians make the trek to the entrance to Pitch's tunnel. Last Easter they had all watched as the tunnel closed up behind Pitch as his own Nightmares dragged him away, taking the old wooden bed frame with it.

But now, the bed frame is standing in the middle of the forest once again, standing above the tunnel, a sign to the Boogeyman's return in strength.

"So," Tooth says nervously. "Anyone got a plan?"

"Storm the place, take Pitch down, save Emma," Bunny says as he kicks the boards of the bed frame out to accommodate his large size.

"I meant a plan as in a way to do that."

Bunny drops into the tunnel and Jack steps up to follow. "By whatever means necessary."

* * *

**Emma POV**

Emma wakes to stiffness and cold. At first, she thinks the cold is Jack, but when she opens her eyes she realizes just how wrong she is. She is lying in a cage, a cage that his hanging from the ceiling of a cave very high in the air. As she sits up the cage wobbles back and forth slightly and she forces herself to move slower. Emma prays that the chain she is hanging from is strong enough to support the cage with her inside.

"Are we awake, my precious?" Pitch flies up to Emma's cage riding his dragon Nightmare. "I do hope you are comfortable in there. I saw what happened between you and your father. With injuries like those you'll need all the rest you can get."

Emma ignores the jibe and glares at him. "Let me out of here!"

"I'm sorry, precious, but I can't do that. It's like I told you, my Nightmares need a little more perfecting before I am ready to exact my revenge on those _stupid_ Guardians. And I need you to help me with that. To help me create a Nightmare that no child will ever be able to wake up from! They will be with me and their worst fears forever!"

Emma clutches Jack's snowflake in her hand wishing he were with her. She knows that it is the belief of children that gives the Guardians their power. If all of the children were trapped in their nightmares the lights on North's globe would go out so fast. Then there will be no stopping Pitch from spreading his darkness around the world.

"You won't get away with this. The Guardians will come for me and they will stop you!

"Oh, but I am counting on it." A horse Nightmare gallops through the air to Pitch. It appears to say something to Pitch that he enjoys immensely because he smiles evilly showing his pointed teeth. "It sees that the Guardians are already here. They have entered my tunnel."

Hope burns through Emma's chest but it fades as Pitch's smile gets wider.

"And I am going to make sure they never leave that tunnel again. Now, you wait here, precious, while I deal with these imbeciles. By the time I get back my Nightmares should have what they need from you and our time together will be over." Pitch puts his hand through the bars of her cage, attempting to pet her, but Emma moves as far away as she can. "I am so looking forward to the moment I can kill you in front of Frost. The look on his face is sure to be priceless."

Emma's chest constricts and she whispers, "No."

"Oh yes. But until then, have fun with your nightmares."

Black sands shoots out of Pitch's hand, swarming around Emma's head, and darkness takes her once again.

* * *

**Jack POV**

It is almost completely dark inside the cavern. Jack feeds magic into his staff so that it glows a soft blue. The tunnel is empty before him, which is odd, because Bunny hopped in before Jack.

"Bunny?" Jack calls, but no one answers except echoes of his own voice. "Bunny!"

Still no answer.

"Guys, I think something happened to…."

Jack looks back up at the hole the others have yet to come through. But there is no hole. Just the ceiling of the cave. Jack looks behind him and then in front of him again. There is no one there.

Jack is alone in a tunnel that seems to like to play tricks. Great.

"Okay. Nowhere else to go but forward, I guess."

Jack starts walking down the cave and the further he goes, the more strange it gets. He knows he should have come up to the entrance to Pitch's lair by now, but the tunnel just keeps on going. There are never any turns or splits in the path. And the walls. They're covered in some kind of dark liquid. It's hard to tell exactly what it is in the blue glow of his staff, but it almost looks like blood.

"Jack!" someone screams.

Jack's heart stops. He knows that voice.

"Emma!" He lunges forward at full speed in the direction of the voice. A pinprick of light forms in the distance and he urges his legs to go faster. The light grows and grows until he can make out what it is. It is a lamp sitting on a nightstand.

Jack stops in front of the lamp with his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. It's a lamp on a nightstand. In a creepy tunnel. And where is the lamp getting power from? Does it run on batteries?

"Hello, Jack, how nice of you to join us," Pitch's voice comes from behind him. Jack whirls around with his staff held firmly in both hands, ready to strike. What he sees causes him to freeze.

Pitch has Emma in his grasp, arm held around her neck. A knife made out of black sand is hovering inches from her throat.

"Jack," Emma whimpers. "I'm scared."

"It's going to be alright, Emma," Jack says as calmly as he can manage. "I promise."

"Can you really promise that, Jack?" Pitch asks condescendingly. "I mean, you promised her you'd keep her safe from me and look at us now." He presses the blade against Emma's skin.

"Leave her alone!"

Pitch laughs amusedly and then his face turns very serious. "No." He slits Emma's throat and her eyes go wide. She tries to say something but all she can get out is a gurgled, choked sound. In seconds she bleeds out and falls to the ground, dead.

"No!" Jack lunges forward and Pitch backs away so Jack can approach the body. As soon as Jack touches her she dissolves into a million grains of sand. Jack's heart is hammering in his chest. "She…she wasn't real?"

Pitch's laughs echo throughout the tunnel. Jack jumps to his feet with his staff clutched tightly in his hands, fury radiating off of him in waves.

"Stop messing with me! Where's Emma?"

"Oh, but Jack, you are so _fun_ to mess with," Jack whirls around and around, trying to find where the voice is coming from but finds only shadow. "And easy, too. Your fears are so easy to read and play with. First you were afraid you would never be believed in. Now you're afraid to lose the one you love most."

Emma appears just within the lamp's light. Jack runs towards her and tries to grab her hand but she turns to sand again.

"Emma!" Jack cries out desperately. She has to be here. Right?

"Jack!" Emma's voice again, coming from behind him. Jack turns but no one is there. "Jack! Jack! Jack!" A million voices, all Emma's, call out his name again and again coming from every direction. Jack's head whips all around trying to find the voice of the real Emma, if any of them are even really her, but there is only empty tunnel.

Soon the lamp and the nightstand disappear, leaving Jack covered in darkness and in the voice of the one he cannot find.

* * *

**Emma POV**

The tunnel seems darker, more sinister, now that Emma knows it is the Boogeyman who is causing her nightmares. There is also no more denying that if something happens to her in the dream, it happens to her in real life. All of her cuts and bruises she's sustained over the past couple of weeks have been because of Pitch's power.

Meaning, if he decides to kill her in her sleep, she'll probably die for real.

A light shines in the distance and Emma knows what is coming. She approaches her mom's bedside and watches her die over and over again while she just stands there, helpless to do anything.

And it did happen, in real life. Her mom is dead.

And there was nothing Emma could do to stop it.

As her father appears, yelling and screaming the same hateful words she's heard a thousand times, Emma thinks that maybe her father is right. Maybe it really was all her fault. She should have been able to find a way to save her mom. Maybe some spirit out there could have saved her.

Her father shape shifts into a dragon once again and pounces on her. Emma doesn't fight back this time.

Maybe this should be her punishment. She should be punished for letting her mom die.

" _But magic doesn't work like that. It helps people find the good in themselves, to find the light amidst the darkness. It helps people discover the impossible things they can do themselves, but it can't do the impossible."_

Those were Jack's words spoken to Emma only yesterday. He said magic doesn't work like that, that it can't do things that are strictly impossible, like saving her dying mom.

He said that it wasn't Emma's fault. And then he stayed with her, held her while she cried, and he didn't mind that she wet his shoulder.

Now that really is impossible, for someone like Jack to care about someone like her.

The dragon suddenly disappears. Emma quickly stands and watches as her mom disappears as well. The dream has never shifted like this before. What's going on?

A new figure appears in the lamplight.

"Jack!" Emma cries in joy and she rushes to him. But when she reaches him he does not open his arms for her to jump in. He just stands there with a stoic expression on his face. "Jack, what's going on?"

"I came to tell you that I can't stay with you," he says, his voice emotionless but dead serious.

"What…what do you mean?"

"I don't want to be with you anymore, Emma."

Something within Emma begins to crack and she can feel tears pushing at the back of her eyes. "No…but you said-"

"I don't love you," Jack says coldly.

Emma sinks to her knees as the rest of her heart breaks. The tears start freely flowing down her face and she doesn't even try to stop them.

He says he doesn't love her.

Emma clutches at her snowflake charm, feeling the familiar warmth of Jacks magic warming her palm.

Was everything that happened the past few weeks just a lie then?

A different kind of warmth begins to emit from the snowflake, something that's never happened before. Emma closes her eyes, trying to concentrate on what it might be. It feels…fuzzier than the warmth of Jack's magic. Is it a different kind of magic? But it can't be. Only Jack's power went into the making of the charm. So what is it?

Jack said that he could feel when she is in trouble because of the snowflake. He can feel her emotions when she is scared or sad.

What if it can work for Emma, too? And what if it does more than transmit negative emotions?

Emma conjures a picture of Jack into her mind, bringing forth her feelings for him. She compares her feelings to what the snowflake is making her feel now.

He loves her. Jack really does love her.

Emma wipes away her tears and gets to her feet. She concentrates on a new feeling now: anger.

"You are _not_ my Jack," she says, heat leaking into every word.

The snowflake begins to glow brightly in her hand, casting the tunnel in a brilliant blue light. Everything begins to fade, the lamp on the nightstand, the blood-covered walls, the fake Jack.

Emma wakes with a gasp. She's once again lying in the cage hanging from a ceiling.

She's awake. She broke out of the dream.

Smiling, Emma sits up and slowly scoots over to the lock on the cage. She has to get out of her. She has to help Jack and the others before it is too late.

She sticks her hand out of the cage and feels the front of the lock. It feels really old.

Emma leans back and tries kicking on the lock, hoping maybe it's so old that rust has made it weaker.

No such luck.

Meaning there are only two ways she's getting out of here: with the key or by picking the lock.

Emma takes out one of the bobby pins she uses to keep her unruly hair tamed. It can't be that hard, right? Especially since it's an old lock.

She places the end of the bobby pin into the lock and starts moving it around.

After about twenty minutes of this she sighs. Patrick Jane on _The Mentalist_ makes this look so much easier than it really is.

Emma moves the pin around a little more. Suddenly, it catches on something, that something moves, and there is a soft click.

Emma blinks a few times. She moves her hand away slowly, now afraid to touch the lock in case whatever she just did magically undoes itself. Gently, she pushes on the cage door.

It swings open, the squeaky hinges echoing loudly across the cavern.

"Alright!" Emma yells excitedly and she pumps the air with her fist.

The sudden movement causes the cage to pitch backwards and Emma loses her balance. She falls forward out the now open door. She screams, her arms flailing around, and she manages to grab the bars of the cage door.

Emma is now hanging from her cage at least fifty feet in the air, her grip very precarious on the slick bars. If she falls from this height would it kill her?

"This is not alright, this is definitely not alright!"

Emma's mind races. There has to be a safe way down, but how?

She looks around. All around her there are several more cages hanging from the ceiling, all at various heights. There's one not too far in front of her that's a little lower than she is now.

Emma begins to kick her feet back and forth causing the chain to swing.

If she could just reach the other cage….

"Yes!" Emma yells happily as her feet hook around the chain of the other cage. She pulls it toward her until she is able to grab it with one of her hands. She then lets go of her cage altogether so that she is now swaying on the new chain, sitting on the cage.

She's maybe forty feet in the air now.

"Okay, just a little further to go."

Emma continues this process, moving from cage to cage, until she is close enough to the ground to jump without the danger of causing too much injury to herself. She falls to the floor, using her momentum to roll to make the impact easier. When she comes to a stop she lies on her back, breathing heavily and all of her limbs shaking with exhaustion.

So, she's out of the cage and safe on the ground. Now to find Jack and get the heck out of here.

Emma heads out through the tunnel Pitch left through. It's narrow and dark. She can barely see her own two feet. Luckily, she still has her phone. And there is an app for this. Emma turns on her flashlight app, giving her plenty of light to see pretty far in front of her.

She can also see the blood dripping from the walls.

It's just like in her dreams.

Did she really not wake up after all, or is it just that the place Pitch took her in her nightmares was always a real place?

Well, only one way to find out. Emma takes in a long steadying breathing and continues forward.

A lamp sitting on a nightstand hasn't appeared yet so odds are she isn't still dreaming. But the longer she walks the more certain she is that she really isn't getting any closer to finding Jack. There have been no turns or other tunnels branching off. Is it just that the tunnel really is this long or has Pitch done something?

Emma stops and searches the ground for a minute. She finds a rock with a sharp enough edge, picks it up, and uses it to put a mark on the wall. She decides on a smiley face. The place needs a little brightening up.

She continues on, keeping her eyes peeled. Sure enough, after only walking a few yards, Emma spots the smiley face she drew on the wall.

Pitch has her trapped in a loop. If he can do this, then there's no telling what he's doing to Jack and the others.

"Jack…." Emma clutches the snowflake hanging from her neck and strokes the ice with her thumb. "Jack, where are you?"

A thought comes to mind. If the snowflake could get Emma out of the dream, then maybe it can help dispel the magic Pitch is using now?

Emma closes her eyes and concentrates on the snowflake, on Jack's presence she can sense through it. She pictures his face. That cocky half-smile he always gets when he's about to do something crazy. His ice-blue eyes that she finds so captivating. She imagines the sound of his voice when he laughs, so much like a little boy, or whenever he calls her Snowflake. She imagines his smell, that mixture of forest, cool clean air, and that smell that is distinctly Jack. She imagines the feel of his arms around her, holding her so tightly like he doesn't ever want to let her go.

She imagines the taste of his lips on hers.

Heat and light emanate from the snowflake so powerful that Emma has to let go of the burning ice and use her hands to cover her eyes. The magic coming off of it is so powerful she can feel it surrounding her, making her skin tingle. Then, all of a sudden, the heat and light dissipate. Emma opens her eyes and she's in a new tunnel, one filled with holes and cracks that let in sunlight, reminding her of Bunny's Warren. She turns off her now unneeded flashlight and looks around.

"Okay, where the heck am I…," Emma lets the sentence hang as she turns around and sees who's behind her.

It's Jack, turned away from her, and looking around just as confusedly as she was. "Bunny's tunnels? How did I end up here?" He turns around and goes very still when he sees Emma.

"Jack…." The word comes out sounding choked and Emma realizes that she is crying. But she doesn't wipe the tears away. For once, she is crying because she is happy, so, so happy.

"Emma," Jack reaches out a hand towards her but hesitates. "Is it really you? Are you real this time?"

Emma takes his hand and places it against her cheek. "Do I feel real?"

Jack cups her face with both hands, using his thumbs to wipe her tears away. He grins brighter than she's ever seen before. "Yeah, you do."

Jack crushes his lips against hers. They lock their arms around each other, Jack's around her waist, Emma's around his neck, both afraid to let go again.

There kiss is filled with passion and desperation and need. It's filled with every fear and every moment they thought they were never going to see each other again.

It's filled with every ounce of love.

Emma breaks away, her lips feeling slightly swollen. She wants to voice her feelings before something else happens. She wants him to know how she truly feels.

But Jack beats her to it. "I love you," he whispers, his forehead pressed against hers.

Emma smiles. "I love you, too."

They kiss again, this time soft and lazy.

But they don't have time to be lazy now. They know that they beat Pitch this round, but he is still out there, about to put the final stage of his plan into action. So, Jack and Emma start walking down the tunnel in search of the others and an exit, hand in hand, not planning to let go for a long time.


	18. Chapter 18

**Emma POV**

It doesn't take Jack and Emma long to find the way out. Jack flies them back out through the hole and find that North, Sandy, Tooth, and Bunny already made it out.

"Emma, you're okay!" Tooth comes up and gives Emma a hug.

North places a heavy hand on Jack's shoulder. "Very nice work, Jack. Tell me, how did you get past creepy tunnel?"

"I didn't do anything." Jack says. "I was in the tunnel with Pitch and then all of a sudden everything vanished and I was in Bunny's tunnel and Emma was right there."

"Same thing happened to me, mate," Bunny says. "Pitch was using his Nightmares on me." He shivers. "I never wanna do that again. But then it all disappeared and I was back in my tunnel."

The other Guardians nod their heads. They all had been subjected to Pitch's Nightmares.

"But why did it all just stop like that," Tooth asks. "Did you do something to Pitch, Jack?"

"I think it was me," Emma says, surprising everyone. They all start asking questions at once but Emma holds up a hand, telling them to stop. "Look, I'd love to explain everything, but can we get out of here first before Pitch comes back?"

North laughs. "Yes, of course. Everyone in sleigh."

Bunny groans at the prospect of having to fly again, but Emma's eyes light up in excitement. She may not have liked flying before, but flying with Jack has helped her start to get over that fear. And it's _Santa's sleigh_. No way would she ever pass that up.

Jack and Emma climb aboard and sit on a bench, still hand in hand. Once everyone is in, North cracks the reigns and they are taking off. As they leave the ground the usual tightness in her stomach returns. But it's less this time.

Yes, Emma is starting to overcome her fears, a thought that makes her smile.

* * *

Back at the Pole they all sit down on the couches and Emma tells her tale. She tells them about Pitch's plan, getting trapped in her Nightmares, and how she used the snowflake to break out and then find Jack.

She leaves out the part about her and Jack kissing. They don't need to know that kind of stuff.

"So it's Emma who saved us?" Bunny asks when she is done.

Emma smiles to herself. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Don't let it go to your head," Jack says with a laugh.

"Don't worry, mate, she's not like you," Bunny retorts, earning himself a glare from Jack.

"My question is," Mrs. N takes another sip of her hot chocolate and then sets the mug down on the table, "was it _just_ the snowflake that allowed Emma to break through Pitch's Nightmares and find Jack, or was it something more?"

"What do you mean?" Emma asks.

"Jack imbued the snowflake with his magic, right?"

Jack nods.

"Well, last I checked Jack doesn't have the ability to break through Nightmares. It may be further proof that Emma is indeed Jack's familiar."

"But the snowflake got really hot and glowed. It was obviously doing something."

"You have not undergone the process of being Jack's familiar yet. Your connection to him is not as strong as it will be. You would have needed an extra boost, so you unconsciously tapped into the magic in the snowflake."

"But when magic's embedded in an object," Bunny says, "it's like raw energy. There's no telling what it'll do."

Emma sighs. So there's still no telling if she really is Jack's familiar or not.

Yetis suddenly start yelling and screaming. Everyone turns to see them staring at the globe in horror.

One by one, spreading across the globe like wildfire, the lights of the believers are going out.

"Pitch," Jack growls through clenched teeth. "He's started his attack."

Bunny stands. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get 'em."

Everyone starts to head toward the sleigh, faces looking determined. Emma stands to go too, but Jack lets go of her hand and holds her shoulders.

"You're staying here," he says sternly.

"No, I want to go, too. I can help!"

"I'm not going to risk losing you again. Whatever happens, I need to know you are safe so I don't have to worry."

"But-"

"No buts." Jack gives her a quick kiss. "See you soon."

And then he walks away.

* * *

**Jack POV**

The spreading darkness on the globe seems to be originating from Burgess so that's where Jack and the rest of the Guardians head. Already they are starting to feel the drain of losing believers, including Jack. That's the downside of being a Guardian now. With every child that doesn't believe in him anymore, the less power he has.

They need to finish this once and for all. Now.

North flies them through a snow globe portal and they come out on the other end in the sky above Burgess.

Below is total chaos.

Dozens, hundreds, of Nightmares, all dragons, are swarming the small town. Children's screams reach their ears and North urges his reindeer to fly them lower. The dragons are chasing the terrified children until they inevitably catch up, pouncing on the children and forcing them into a fitful sleep where the only dreams they have are nightmares. One of the children who fought with the Guardians before, Pippa, stands up to a Nightmare and places her hands on it, trying to turn it into a good dream. It doesn't work. The sand remains black and the dragon traps her mind in nightmares.

There are also adults everywhere, some trying to calm the children down, asking them what's wrong, but only making it easier for the Nightmares to get the children. Others simply look on in horror. They can't see any of the dragons, only kids running around screaming and then dropping unconscious to the ground. There is nothing the police, paramedics, or parents can do.

North lands the sleigh next to an ambulance and the Guardians run to the first unconscious kid they see.

It is someone they all know.

"Jamie!" Jack yells, shaking the child's shoulders, but Jamie doesn't stir. "Jamie, wake up!"

Sandy approaches the boy and puts his hands on the Nightmare dragon floating above Jamie's head. Seconds tick by, one minute, two.

But the dark sand does not turn gold.

"It's not working," Tooth says, voice near hysteria. "If we cannot wake up the children, then what do we do?"

"Easy," Bunny answers, boomerang already in hand, "we go after the source of the problem."

Their heads turn to the sky. A large, swirling mass of black sand, forming something that almost looks like a tornado, is rising out of the park. Pitch has to be there.

Jack grips his staff tightly in both hands and it crackles blue sparks of ice. "Let's do this."

The Guardians quickly make their way to the park. Pitch stands in a small clearing, the base of the sandstorm swirling in the air above him.

Pitch grins wickedly. "Ah, Guardians, so nice of you to join me. You're all just in time to see the beginnings of a new era. _My_ era, an era of eternal darkness!"

"I don't think so," Jack says. "We're going to stop you."

Pitch conjures his sand scythe in his hands. "I'd like to see you try."

North is the first to charge, a battle cry bursting from his deep lungs, and he swings his swords at Pitch. The twin blades are easily deflected by Pitch's scythe and he takes a swipe at North, sending the big man flying several feet through the air.

Bunny tries next, throwing both his boomerang and his egg grenades. Black sand comes down from the mass, creating a barrier around Pitch, easily blocking the explosions. The boomerang bounces off of the sand like a toy but it still goes back to Bunny's hand.

Ice shoots out of Jack's staff, blast after blast, but it does nothing to the barrier.

Pitch laughs, clearly enjoying himself. He sends out several dragons after the Guardians and they are soon outnumbered. Each of the Guardians hold their own against the Nightmares for as long as they can, but none of their attacks seem to be working. Sandy can't even turn the black grains gold. One by one the dragons beat them to the ground.

The Guardians regroup, all of them taking in gasps of air. They're completely exhausted, both from the fight and the dwindling number of believers in the world.

"You might as well give up, Guardians," Pitch taunts. "You're never going to beat me."

"We'll…never give up," Jack says through gritted teeth. He's leaning heavily on his staff, blood oozing down the side of his face from a wound on his forehead. Still, he manages to fire another blast of ice at the Boogeyman. It's easily deflected by the scythe.

Pitch conjures more sand and sends it swirling around the guardians, forming a cage.

"Well, it doesn't matter now," he says with a smile. "You lose. And I'm going to make you watch as I spread my darkness around the world. Then I'm going to go to the North Pole, or wherever it is you've stowed away your little girlfriend, and make you watch as I slit her throat. For real this time."

* * *

**Emma POV**

Emma and Mrs. N sit on the couch together, yetis and elves gathered around them, tension hanging thickly in the air. How long the Guardians will be gone, no one knows. How long is too long? How long should they wait before it means that something went terribly wrong?

But there is a way to find out. Emma holds her snowflake tightly in both hands and closes her eyes, concentrating on the feeling of Jack's emotions flowing through her.

There is sadness, anger, hatred, determination. Fear. Despair.

Defeat.

Emma's eyes fly open in horror. "They can't win this," she whispers. "They really can't win this."

"What?" Mrs. N asks. She's tried to stay calm for so long but worry is starting to seep through the cracks.

"Pitch, he's won. I can see them. Pitch has the Guardians trapped in a cage."

Mrs. N covers her mouth with a hand. "Then it's over….."

Fire sparks in Emma's chest and her face sets in determination. "No." She goes to the Christmas tree, grabbing her bow that she left there Christmas night, and then heads for the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Mrs. N asks.

"To my room to grab my quiver of arrows. Then I'm going to use a snow globe and go help them."

Mrs. N grabs her arm, stopping Emma in her tracks. "There is nothing you can do. Not like this."

"But I have to do _something_ ," Emma says desperately.

Mrs. N smiles and Emma raises a brow in surprise. "I said you can't do anything _like this_. But you might be able to do something…as a familiar."

Hope and fear boil up inside of her at the same time. Emma could become a familiar. Right now. That's what she's saying. Mrs. N will help her do it right now. No Jack around to stop her.

But….

What if she isn't meant to be Jack's familiar? She'll die and there will be no one left to save Jack and everyone else.

She'll never see Jack again.

But if she doesn't do this, then she still will never see Jack again. Pitch will win. The world will be covered in darkness. And Pitch will most likely come for her, sooner rather than later.

Emma grips her bow tightly in both hands. "What do I have to do?"

Mrs. N takes her by the elbow and guides her over to the globe where a yeti is standing with the Book of the Guardians in its hands. Mrs. N takes the book and leafs through the pages until she finds the section on familiars.

"Normally, Jack would need to be here for this," Mrs. N begins, "so that he could give you a piece of his magic. That's why not everyone can become a familiar. Normal people cannot survive being imbued with magic. It would burn them up from the inside. With those chosen to be familiars it's different. We already had magic inside of us when we were born, but it has no purpose. Kind of like a blank slate. Being imbued with the magic of your spirit is like putting writing on that slate, giving it a set of instructions, that allows it to become the same kind of magic as your spirit. In your case, the magic inside of you will become the magic of winter."

"So what do we do since Jack isn't here to give me some of his magic?"

"Oh, but he already did." Mrs. N touches the snowflake around Emma's neck. "He gave you this piece of ice imbued with his magic. We should be able to transfer the magic from the snowflake to you."

Emma fumbles with the clasp at the back of her neck, her fingers shaking with nervousness. When she finally manages to unhook the metal she slips the snowflake from the chain and hands it to Mrs. N.

Mrs. N eyes her with concern. "Are you sure you're ready to do this? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Emma looks up at the moon. She wants to ask the Man in the Moon if this is the right decision. If she really is a familiar like she believes herself to be. She knows he may not answer. But, then again, she doesn't need him to.

"I _need_ to do this. Both for Jack…and myself."

"Alright, then let's get started." Mrs. N looks down at the page and begins to read aloud. "'Do you, Emma Stone, vow to give up your life in order to become the familiar of Jack Frost? Do you vow to take part in his duties and responsibilities as both a spirit and a Guardian? Most importantly, do you vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes and their dreams, for they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be?"

Emma takes in a deep breath. "I swear."

"Then with this magic of Jack Frost," she holds up the snowflake in her hand. It begins to glow and then floats into the air on its own in front of Emma, "the Spirit of Winter and Guardian of Fun, I make you now, and forevermore, a familiar."

The snowflake floats closer and closer to Emma until it dissolves into her skin. Emma closes her eyes as the energy flows through her all the way down to the tips of her toes. It's an intense heat, almost painful. She begins to glow a soft blue and her feet leave the floor as her body rises into the air. Her bow leaves her hand and begins to glow as well.

The light becomes brighter and brighter and brighter, until Mrs. N, the yetis, and the elves have no choice but to close their eyes.

All they can do is wait as Emma undergoes the change. What will be her fate?


	19. Chapter 19

**Mrs. N POV**

As the light finally begins to dissipate Mrs. N lowers her hand away from her eyes, almost afraid of what she might see.

What if she was wrong? What if Emma is now only a pile of ash?

The light fades completely.

Mrs. N grins. There is no pile of ash in front of her, but a girl with snow-white hair, pale skin, and when she opens her eyes Mrs. N sees that the irises are no longer an emerald green but a lovely ice-blue, maybe a few shades darker than Jack's.

It worked. Emma really is Jack's familiar.

She'll never doubt her heart again, and hopefully the others won't either.

"Emma," Mrs. N says, cautiously stepping towards the girl. Emma has been staring up at the moon for a long time. At the sound of Mrs. N's voice she looks at the older woman, startled. Emma then looks down at herself, at her hands, her hair, as if they are completely foreign.

"Emma, what do you remember?" Mrs. N tries again. "Do you remember anything?" The girl still says nothing. "Emma."

"Emma…," the girl says, repeating the word softly. "That's my name. It used to be Emma Stone." She looks up at the moon and smiles warmly. "The Man in the Moon tells me my name is now Emma Frost."

* * *

**Emma POV**

Emma looks down at her hands again and smiles. She then looks to Mrs. N. "Mrs. N it worked. It really worked. I'm Jack's familiar!"

She laughs in delight and launches herself at Mrs. N who readily returns the embrace.

"Congratulations, Emma," Mrs. N says. "Welcome to the family!"

Emma steps away and beams at the older woman.

Family. She's part of the Guardians' family now. Over the span of a few days she lost one family and gained a new one. This time, every member cares about and supports her. Although she will never forget the family she lost, she would not give up her new family for the world.

She doesn't feel alone anymore.

Perhaps that was the plan all along, Manny?

"I can't wait to show Jack that I'm his familiar now," Emma says excitedly and then she gasps. "That's right! Jack! He and the others are in trouble. I have to go help them!"

She leans down quickly to pick up her bow that had fallen on the floor earlier. As soon as her fingers touch the carved wood frost spreads out from her fingertips in intricate floral designs. Emma stares at it in wonder. It's just like Jack's staff. What did he say before? His staff is the conduit for his power. Emma has power now, Jack's power, the power of winter. Her bow must now be her conduit.

She touches the tip of the bow to the floor. Frost blooms out, freezing the tile. Emma tries it again and again and again. All she has to do is visualize what she wants and then bam! It happens. It's amazing.

Emma's eyes slide to an elf standing not too far away. When she first saw the elves she thought they were cute. That is, until she figured out that every time she has food the pesky little buggers will try to steal it. She made sure to stay close to Jack while she was eating. He'd freeze the elves before they got too close.

Perhaps Emma should try that trick for herself.

Emma pokes the elf's hat with her bow and imagines him frozen solid from head to toe. As soon as the wood hits the fabric the elf turns into a popsicle, just as she imagined.

Mrs. N laughs. "Well, you are definitely _Jack's_ familiar. Are you getting the hang of your powers?"

"Yeah, it's so easy. It's-" Emma lets out a yelp as the wind suddenly spirals around her and lifts her off the ground. She spreads her arms out in an attempt to maintain balance and stay upright. Okay, maybe it's not all so easy. Emma forces herself to relax and imagines the air flowing around her, supporting each limp. After a few moments she stops wobbling and she's able to hover in the air almost as well as Jack does.

Emma swears she hears a soft chuckling on the wind.

"Oh, wind! Hello, it's nice to really, truly meet you! I guess I was taking too long, huh?" She hears laughter again. "Now you and I get to have some fun together instead of just Jack."

Emma urges the wind to take her higher in the air and then she is zooming all around the room, flying between balconies, and swirling around the globe. Flying isn't as scary as she thought it would be. It's rather comforting knowing that she was the one in control.

"Emma!" Mrs. N calls and Emma lands on the ground next to her. Mrs. N holds out a snow globe to her. "Since you seem to have a handle on your powers perhaps it is time you go help my husband and the others?"

"What about you?" Emma asks. "Aren't you coming, too?"

Mrs. N shakes her head. "Unfortunately, I do not have any skill in fighting. Until Pitch started his antics the world was mostly peaceful. There was never any real need for me to learn, although maybe I ought to. Perhaps you could teach me to use a bow sometime?"

Emma smiles. "I would be honored to. But before I do go," she grips her bow tightly in her left hand and turns to face the Christmas tree, "there's one more thing I want to try."

Jack's staff is a weapon all on its own, but a bow uses ammo. Since creating ice is so effortless and fast maybe she doesn't need her quiver of arrows anymore.

Emma raises her bow and pulls back on the string with her right hand. The string is very taut from never having been used before. Emma pulls it back several times to stretch it out and get her arm muscles accustomed to the resistance. When she is ready Emma takes a deep breath and pulls the string back again. As her arm goes back an arrow made out of ice forms perfectly in place on her bow. Emma takes aim and fires. The ice arrow whizzes through the air, pierces the center of the star on the Christmas tree, and hits the far wall with a thunk. The star and the surrounding wall freeze solid.

Emma takes the snow globe from Mrs. N's hand. " _Now_ I'm ready to go."

* * *

**Jack POV**

The Guardians continue to beat at the bars of the cage containing them with all the strength they have left, but it is no use. The sand is compacted together so strongly that it's become tougher than steel.

Jack slumps to the floor in exhaustion. His limbs are shaking and he can't seem to take in enough air. His powers are all but gone. It's a weakness he is not used to feeling. The number of believers left in the world must be very small now.

Pitch approaches them, a wicked smile on his face. "Are you enjoying yourselves?"

"Come closer so I can knock your teeth out again and I will be," Tooth says with a hostility Jack has rarely seen in her.

Pitch touches is jaw subconsciously, probably remembering the last time Tooth knocked his teeth out, and Jack can't help but smile. "I do not think so." The wicked smile returns. "It is _I_ who will be knocking _your_ teeth out soon."

Before he can issue more threats something zooms through the air aimed right for Pitch's face. Pitch backs away quickly, narrowly avoiding the projectile. Several more shoot out in quick procession causing the Boogeyman to retreat to his dragon and take to the air.

One of the objects impales in the ground next to the cage. It's an arrow made of ice. Jack pulls it out of the ground and shows it to the others with a questioning look. They all shake their heads. None of them know of a spirit who uses ice arrows.

"Who is that?" Pitch demands as he scans the surrounding trees. "Show yourself, you coward!"

"I'm not the coward here," a voice calls out. It's a voice that Jack and all of the Guardians find familiar.

But it can't be…

Emma steps out of the shadows of a nearby tree, bow in hand. So many emotions crowd around inside Jack. Mainly shock. Emma looks like another version of him. Her skin is pale, her hair white, and her eyes ice-blue, although not the exact same shade. She looks just like him.

"You…," Pitch says, clearly confused. "You're that Emma Stone girl. But how-"

"No," Emma says. "Not Emma _Stone_. Not anymore. The name's Emma _Frost_." She raises her bow, pulls back on the string, and an ice arrow materializes in place, ready to fire. "And I'm Jack's familiar."

* * *

**Emma POV**

The look of shock on everyone's faces: absolutely amazing. Emma can't help but laugh a little.

The flicker of fear in Pitch's eyes: priceless.

Emma fires another arrow at Pitch but he dodges it and sends three Nightmare dragons flying at her. She gives them an arrow each, and when the arrows connect with the black sand the grains instantly turn gold. They turn into happy, playful dragons that a child might dream up.

Huh. Guess there are some perks to being a familiar.

Pitch's cool façade he's been able to keep up starts to crack. He sends several more dragons at her. They quickly surround Emma, but she just slams her bow down and frost shoots out all around her, blasting at the Nightmares and turning them into good dreams.

Emma starts running towards the cage holding the Guardians but Jack shakes his head.

"Don't worry about us!" he shouts. "Go after the storm of Nightmare sand. It has to be what's feeding Pitch's power."

Emma nods and changes coarse, heading straight for the pillar of black, swirling sand. Several tendrils are shooting out of the storm, almost like what Sandy does when he spreads his dream sand. If she takes it out it might just stop the Nightmares that are attacking the children and the Guardians' strength will come back.

Wave after wave of Nightmares attack Emma, trying to keep her from her goal. She fires arrow after arrow and when they get too close she uses her bow to blast them with frost. Black sand explodes into gold all around her as she slowly makes progress.

As she takes out the last dragon in her way there still looms one more threat between her and the storm: Pitch Black himself.

And his fear is slowly ebbing away, being replaced by hatred. A hatred so fierce that it reminds Emma of her father right before he attacked her.

Emma's own fear grips at her heart. Can she take on Pitch by herself? Not likely. But she doesn't have to. She just has to take out that storm and free the others.

Pitch conjures a deadly sand scythe in his hands and urges his dragon to charge.

Emma can tell this is going to be easier said than done.

She doges to the right, narrowly avoiding the dragon's snapping jaws. The scythe whizzes through the air, aiming for her neck, and she rolls on the ground out of reach.

Emma darts left and right, trying to find a way past, but Pitch is too fast.

Well, if she can't go around, then how about over?

Emma wills the wind to take her skyward as fast as possible. She zooms through the air, high above Pitch and his dragon, and quickly comes to a stop when her line of sight is clear.

She has only one second to take aim before Pitch catches up with her.

But one second is all she needs.

Emma pulls back on her bow, notches three arrows on the string, and fires at the Nightmare storm.

They each disappear into the sand.

Nothing happens at first. Then there is an explosion of gold as the Nightmare sand turns into dream sand. The gold spreads throughout the storm and through the tendrils. Emma knows that soon children are going to be free from their nightmares and she smiles.

The children are safe.

But she is not. Her second is up.

Pitch cries out in rage and swings his scythe. Emma flies away just in time.

The chase is on.

Emma begs the wind to carry her faster. She can practically feel the dragon's breath on her heels as they zoom through the air. Emma isn't sure how long she can stay one step ahead of the before she becomes dragon food.

She is in serious need of help.

Emma cuts to the right and heads for the cage.

She only has one shot at this.

"Everyone, get back!" she calls. They do as she asks as she raises her bow and fires.

The arrow collides with the bars of the cage and in an explosion of frost and black sand a gaping hole is made.

The Guardians grin to each other and with a battle cry they join the fight.

A claw tears across Emma's arm and knocks her bow out of her hand. Emma cradles her injured arm against her chest. The cuts aren't too deep but they sting like crazy.

Then Emma realizes that she is falling. She can't feel her connection to the wind anymore. Emma lets out a shrill scream as the ground quickly approaches. In the distance below her she can see her bow falling through the air. Her bow is the conduit for her power. Emma just didn't realize that that included flying too.

She uselessly reaches for it. The bow is much too far away.

After everything that's happened, she is going to die by going splat on the ground.

Arms suddenly wrap around her, yanking her out of her fall. Emma looks up to see Jack, but he hasn't stopped flying through the air, heading towards the ground. Jack manages to catch her bow and then eases them to a stop. They're about ten feet from the ground.

"Told you I wouldn't let you fall, Snowflake." Jack hands Emma her bow and she holds onto it tightly.

Note to self: hang onto bow when flying. No bow equals splat.

"Thank you," Emma says and she squeezes her arms more tightly around his neck.

Jack is about to say something else when the sounds of battle bring their attention back to more pressing matters. Sandy and Tooth are flying through the air taking out Pitch's remaining Nightmares while North and Bunny are in the sleigh going after the Boogeyman himself. The Nightmares are weak after Emma destroyed the storm so Sandy and Tooth are making good progress, but North and Bunny are having a hard time landing an attack on Pitch. He's always just one step ahead of them.

Jack and Emma look at each other. They need to end this. Now.

"Hey Chickenman!" Emma calls to Pitch. "Are you afraid to fight me?"

Pitch gives her a deadly glare and then urges his dragon into a charge.

They wait until they can see the yellow in his eyes.

Then Jack lets go of Emma, quickly rising in the air out of danger, while Emma purposefully allows herself to fall. She raises her bow, pulls back, and fires an arrow directly at the dragon's belly.

The dragon explodes into grains of gold sand and the Boogeyman falls to the ground.

Emma lands on her feet next to him and stared down at him. He moves to get up but she points and arrow at him.

"I don't think so," she says. "You're not going anywhere."

The others gather around, Jack standing close to her side.

"What should we do with him?" Tooth asks. "We can't just let him go like last time."

"You guys don't have some sort of spirit prison or something?"

"No," North says, stroking his beard. "But we do need to contain him somehow so that he has no chance of escape and cannot regain power again."

Jack grins mischievously. "Emma and I could probably whip something up."

Emma shares his grin. "Oh, I am so going to enjoy this. Stand him up."

Sandy does as she asks, using his sand whip to grab Pitch around the middle and force him to his feet. Emma and Jack move to either side of him, Jack's staff and Emma's bow held out in front of them.

"What are you doing?" Pitch asks, sounding panicked. "You cannot contain me. I am the Boogeyman! So long as there is fear I will always find a way to come back!"

"Not anymore, Pitch," Emma says. "This time, you're going to stay in the cold shadows."

Frost shoots out from the bow and staff, freezing Pitch solid. He cries out in fear until he is completely covered in ice, frozen in place in a block of ice forever.

"Do you think it will hold?" Bunny asks.

"I don't know," Jack says as he takes Emma's hand. "But even if it doesn't, with our new edition, I think we can handle whatever he comes up with next."

Emma looks at him apologetically. "I'm sorry I decided to do this without you."

"I hope so. You could have died! What if you hadn't been my familiar?"

"But I am, Jack." Emma squeezes his hand. "And I knew I was even before I agreed to undergo the ceremony. I could feel it."

Jack scowls at her but she can tell it is only halfhearted. "Well, you still should have waited."

"If I had you all would still be in that cage." Emma sighs in exasperation. "Honestly, Jack, stop thinking about what _could_ have happened. It's all already over and I turned out fine."

Jack sighs, finally giving up, and smiles. He studies her carefully now, taking in all of the new things about her. He focuses on her eyes. "I'm going to miss your eyes. They were such a brilliant green."

"A small price to pay for us to be together forever, right?"

Jack smiles and pulls her into his arms. "Most definitely."

Their lips come together and the world melts away. They still have a lot of clean up to do, there's no telling how many Nightmares are still floating around out there somewhere, but for right now all Emma cares about is the taste of Jack's kiss and the feel of his embrace, which is no longer cold but just right.

They don't even hear Bunny's "Took you long enough" or Tooth's "Aww, they're so cute!"

Well, they don't hear or just don't care.


	20. Chapter 20

**Emma POV**

_Dear Aunt Marcy,_

_By the time you read this I will already be gone. I'm sorry I'm not saying goodbye to you in person, but I knew you would try to talk me out of it._

_I'm leaving._

_After what happened with my father I know I will be taken out of his custody. I'm not mad about that. It's better that I never see him again, for me and for him. All I will ever do is remind him of his grief and guilt. He will always remind me of the pain he put me through, and there is nothing anyone can do to erase that. I know there is probably going to be a trial and stuff, but I just can't stick around for all of that._

_I'm still seventeen so I imagine that I would be put in your care. You, Jamie, and Sophie are the only living relatives I have left. But I cannot stay with you. It's not that I don't love you, because I really do. It's just that I can't live in the same house in which my mom died. And I can't ask you guys to move just for my sake. That wouldn't be fare of me._

_So, I think it would be better for everyone if I just leave. I'll be legally an adult in only a few months anyway. Do not worry about me. I can take care of myself. And I won't be alone. Not really. But since I know you will probably worry anyway I will send you a postcard whenever I can with a picture of whatever new place I am in._

_Please, do not report my absence to the police and do not try to find me. If I want to be found, then I will go to you._

_I love you all so much and I will miss you every day._

_With love,_

_Emma_

* * *

Emma puts down the pen and looks over her letter one last time. It's mostly all a lie, but some of it is true, like the part about her father. And Aunt Marcy's house. That place will never be the same to her again. But the true reason for why she is leaving is a lot different.

She is now invisible to most of the people of the world, including her aunt. Jamie and Sophie can see her though, along with any other child who already believes in Jack Frost. That's one of the things about being a familiar. The children don't have to specifically believe in her. So long as they believe in Jack she'll be seen as well. It makes her a little sad. Jack had to wait so long to get his first believer, but it's coming to Emma on a silver platter.

When she talked to Jack about it he just smiled and said that he's glad she doesn't have to go through the pain and loneliness he went through.

There's a knock on the door and, speak of the devil, Jack pops his head in.

"Ready to go?" he asks.

"Yeah, just give me a sec." Emma sticks her letter in an envelope, grabs her bow, and heads out with Jack down the hall, hand in hand.

They're going to pack up Emma's things and then say goodbye to Jamie and Sophie. Emma knew what she was getting herself into, ever since she first decided that she was going to undergo the ceremony to become a familiar, but she knew this would be the hardest part. She's grown really attached to her two cousins.

A quick stroll through a portal, which is getting easier on Emma's stomach, and they come out on the other side in her room, soon to be Jamie's room once more. Emma grabs her suitcase and plops it down on the bed. She remembers doing the same thing only a few weeks ago whenever she first moved in. So much has changed since then. _She's_ changed, both inside and out.

It doesn't take long to pack up all her stuff and when she's done she takes one last look around the room.

Even though her mom died in this house, she still can't help but think that she's going to miss this place. Because so much _good_ happened here, too.

It is where she met Jack after all.

"You okay?" Jack asks as he puts a hand on her shoulder.

Emma covers his hand with hers. "Yeah. This should be everything. Just let me go say goodbye."

They head out of the room, Jack being a gentleman and carrying the suitcase, in search of her cousins. Jamie and Sophie aren't in Sophie's room so they head downstairs. The kids aren't there either.

But her aunt is.

Emma stares at her aunt with longing and sadness. Aunt Marcy is sitting on the couch staring at a photo they took a while back sometime before her mom was diagnosed. It has Aunt Marcy, Jamie, Sophie, Emma, and her parents all in a group photo, together and smiling happily.

Now three of those people are gone to her, one of which she doesn't even know about yet. Emma hates to leave her like this, but she has no choice. She can't tell Aunt Marcy the truth. It is highly unlikely any adult would believe in the existence of Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, even the mother of Jamie Bennet.

Emma reaches out a hand as if to place it consolingly on her aunt's shoulder and watches as her hand phases through her aunt's body. It is a strange, highly unpleasant feeling. But something she will have to get used to now.

"Goodbye," Emma whispers and then goes outside in search of her cousins.

She finds them in the front yard, building another snowman to be the companion of the one they made so long ago.

"Hey guys," she says. Jamie and Sophie turn and when they see her they go bug-eyed.

"Emma," Jamie says, mouth hanging open, "you look just like Jack. Are you…like him now?"

"Yep." Emma kneels down on the ground in front of the two kids, the cold snow not bothering her at all.

"That's awesome! Can I be like him, too?"

Jack laughs. "I'm sorry, but that's not how it works, buddy."

Jamie's face falls. "How come?"

"Well…," Emma scratches her head, not sure how to explain this. "The only reason I was able to become like Jack is because I am his familiar."

"What's a familiar?"

"I'm kind of like his…partner. It means I help him out creating winter and fun times."

"And I can't be a familiar, too?"

"I'm sorry, Jamie, but no. Each spirit has only one familiar and the moon chose us all long ago."

"Oh." Jamie's face falls. "So does this mean you have to leave?"

Emma gives him a sad smile. "Yeah, I do."

"But where will you go?"

"She's staying with me," Jack answers. "At the North Pole."

Emma blushes a little. He means that quite literally. Emma's moving into his room at the North Pole. The thought made her really anxious at first, but it's not like they need sleep that often anyway. And besides, she likes the thought of waking up next to Jack.

Also, she is Emma Frost after all. Emma isn't sure what to call their relationship exactly, but it's certainly more than boyfriend/girlfriend.

"Will you come back and visit?" Jamie asks.

"Of course I will, silly goose." Emma ruffles his hair. "It's not like you never see Jack, do you?"

Jamie laughs as he tries to flatten his hair back down. "He visits all the time, even when it isn't winter here."

"Well, there you go. Whenever you see Jack you'll see me, too."

"Promise?"

Emma pulls Jamie into a hug. "Promise." She gives Sophie a hug too and then stands, holding out the letter to Jamie. "Can you give this to Aunt Marcy for me, please?"

Jamie nods as he takes it and they all say their final goodbyes.

Jack and Emma watch as the kids head inside and with one last long look they turn to leave.

"Are you going to miss it?" Jack asks quietly. "All of this? Your life?"

"Yeah," she says sadly. "Of course I will. But that doesn't matter now."

"I'm sorry. For taking you away from it."

"Jack," Emma stops walking and grabs his arm, forcing him to stop with her. "There is absolutely nothing for you to apologize for. I made the decision to be with you. You didn't force me into it. No one did. I chose to spend my life with you because I wanted to. I _want_ to be with you." She places a hand on his cheek and holds it there until he looks her in the eye. "I'm happiest when I'm with you. And knowing I'll be able to be with you for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years to come. That makes me really, really happy. I love you, Jack. And this here," she holds his face between both of her hands, "this is all I need."

With the warmest, most loving smile she has ever seen on his face, Jack puts the suitcase down and pulls her into his arms. "I love you, too. And I'm glad that I get to always be with you now. This right here," he gently squeezes her, "this is all I need."

Jack places a kiss on the top of her head, and then her temple, and then her forehead. He traces feather-light kisses down the side of her face, along her jaw, up to her cheek, her nose, and then finally her lips. Emma stands up on her tippy toes, pressing as close to him as possible, relishing in the happiness and love that courses through her with each movement of their lips.

Celebrate life, die righteously, prevail over sorrow, and give thanks.

These are the words Emma's mom used to say.

Emma will celebrate her new life with Jack every moment of every day.

Although she may never actually die now, Emma will protect the children of the world with her life.

Emma has prevailed over all of the sorrow in her life, thanks to Jack.

And she will definitely give thanks. To her cousins, for introducing her to Jack. To all of the Guardians, for becoming her new family. To Jack, for seeing a part of her that she could not see herself and loving every little bit of her.

And Emma gives thanks to the Man in the Moon, for bringing them all together.

* * *

**The End**

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_ **or is it...** _

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If you have read this far, then I thank you for your loyalty. It shall now be rewarded with an after-credit special. :)

* * *

**? POV**

A figure stands in the shadows watching the young couple, Jack Frost and his familiar.

Why was the girl able to become a familiar? Why _her_?

She's watched the development between Jack and the girl closely. She watched them fall in love. She and her lover all those years ago had been no different than Jack and this girl. And yet her lover had been unable to become her familiar. Instead, her magic burned him from the inside out until he was nothing but ash.

Why was this girl different than her lover?

Why did the Man in the Moon choose this girl and not her lover?

The figure looks up at the moon in hatred.

Well, if she cannot have her happiness, then _no one can_.

**Coming Soon**

(I mean this like they do in movie theaters: I have no idea when I'm actually going to start this story but it probably _won't_ be anytime soon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, this is the last chapter. Like I said, I plan on a sequel but I'm working on some other stuff for Transformers at the moment so this probably won't come for some time yet. But I do plan on getting to it eventually.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!


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